I Think I Got Heartbreak Down
by randomklainer
Summary: Blaine, a college student, has given up on love. But can his younger sister's friend change that? Eventually? Anderberry siblings. Blam friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! So I'm pretty keen on the idea of Anderberry siblings, and I saw a fic a while ago where Blaine was a few years older than Rachel, so I thought I'd give it a go. Umm, and because it amuses me, their surname actually is Anderberry in this fic. I only really have a general idea of where I'm going with this, so I was going to wait till I'd written a whole lot more before I posted. But I got impatient, so hopefully I won't mess the plot up for myself too much. But on the bright side, this way you can have some imput. So let me know if there are any characters you want included (eg who you want Sam's gf to be (someone from ND, an OC or . . .)) or whatever else, and it may get included.**

Blaine dropped his head in his hands as a headache began to pound behind his right eye. This assignment was never going to get itself finished. It was bad enough that it was impossibly difficult, but now he couldn't even concentrate. Why the apartment building needed maintenance work done during the busiest part of the semester Blaine didn't know, but the racket coming from down the hall had been going on for the past three hours now.

There was a tap at his open door. He turned in his chair to see his roommate, Sam, standing there looking concerned. 'Dude, are you okay? You look like you're about to pull a muscle in your brain.'

Blaine gave a weak smile in return. 'It's just this assignment. And the builders. And classes. And people. And this town in general. So, you know, not too much.'

'Shit, you really are struggling, aren't you? How's the group assignment with James going?'

Blaine groaned in response. James was his ex who he'd dated for six months the previous year. It had been Blaine's longest relationship, and he'd loved James but James obviously hadn't felt the same way. If his callous dumping was anything to go by. Blaine was still heart-broken from the experience, and now he was forced to see James almost daily to work on a project with him. Added to everything else going on, Blaine really wasn't coping at all well.

'You know what you need?' By this stage, Sam had plopped down on Blaine's bed. 'You need to get away from it all for a few days. Your Fridays are free aren't they? Why don't you go home for the weekend?'

Blaine thought for a moment. Today was Thursday, and he was already done classes for the day. If he was lucky, he would be able to get a flight home tonight. That way he could spend the weekend with his dads and Rachel. He had to admit, he really had missed his family. 'That's a great idea,' he told Sam eventually. 'Thanks man. But, um, was there an actual reason you came in here?'

'Oh yea,' Sam's eyes lit up as he remembered. 'I'm gonna go get some lunch with the gf. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with?'

'No, it's ok,' Blaine told him, turning back to his computer and opening a new tab. 'I have flights to book.'

Xxx

As the taxi pulled up to the curb, Blaine noticed that there weren't any lights on in the house. Maybe arriving unannounced wasn't such a good idea. Because turning up to an empty house was never very fun.

He threw a handful of bills to the driver as he checked his watch. _9.30_. He really wasn't sure why the whole family would be out that late on a Thursday night. As he walked up the front path, he dug a key out of his pocket, unlocking the door quietly and slipping into the house.

Once inside, Blaine noticed a soft light coming from the lounge. He walked towards the back of the house, the light gradually growing brighter as sounds from the tv began to reach his ears. He stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene before him. Rachel was curled up on the couch, a blanket draped over her, snuggled up against a fresh-faced boy. Blaine glanced to the screen where – he had to look twice – Wicked was playing. He leant against the doorframe, looking back towards his sister.

'Hey Rach,' he called gently, watching in amusement as she whipped around to look at him.

'Blainey,' she squealed, excitement evident. She jumped up from the couch, rushing over to Blaine and engulfing him in a tight hug. She pulled away before asking, 'What are you doing here?'

'Just had to get away,' he explained, 'so I'm here for the weekend. Where are our dads?'

'Oh,' Rachel almost seemed surprised by the question. 'Rosie O'Donnell was doing a seminar in Columbus. So they decided they may as well stay the night there. Hence the reason Kurt's staying.' Blaine glanced back to the boy on the couch, who was watching them with amusement.

'Kurt, did you say?' Blaine asked Rachel, as he followed her back towards the couch.

Rachel stopped abruptly, with Blaine nearly walking into her. 'Of course, you two haven't met,' she chastised herself. 'Blaine, this is my best friend, Kurt Hummel. Kurt, this is my older brother, Blaine Anderberry.'

Blaine held out his hand to Kurt, who took it in his own soft hand. For the life of him, he couldn't place the look that Kurt was giving him. 'Nice to meet you,' he told him kindly, before turning back to Rachel. 'Do our dads know that you have a boy staying over?'

He heard a short, sharp laugh from beside Rachel. 'I'm as gay as the fourth of July,' Kurt explained. 'So it's not like they have anything to worry about.'

Blaine grinned at Rachel. 'Makes sense that your bestie would be gay as well. Since you had to grow up with all three of us filling the house with fabulousness. But I have to say, I am kinda surprised you didn't try to sneak Finn in here instead.'

Rachel looked aghast. 'I would never do something like that. How dare you say such a thing.'

Blaine heard Kurt snort at this. 'Please. The only reason I'm here tonight is because Finn's grounded.' Blaine was confused. He knew Rachel was tactless, but he didn't think she'd actually say that outright. Kurt obviously sensed his confusion. 'Finn's my step-brother,' he explained.

'Yes, well, anyway,' Rachel said in a tone that suggested she wanted to change the subject. 'It's nice to see you Blaine. Did you want to watch the rest of Wicked with us?'

Blaine thought about it for a moment, unsure what to do. He didn't want to impose on them. But he really liked this musical, not that he'd ever admit as much to Rachel. And he really just wanted to chill out for a bit. Eventually, he just collapsed into the armchair, answering Rachel's question in that way.

Rachel pushed play, and they continued to watch the movie, which Kurt had had the forethought to pause. Blaine watched carefully, but he found it difficult to focus. He felt his eyes beginning to droop, and he could no longer understand the words. The last thing that Blaine remembered was two voices beside him singing along with the ones onscreen.

Xxx

Blaine awoke to the sound of something solid connecting with glass. He cracked his eyes open, momentarily confused as to where he was. He remembered the night before, watching Wicked. He must have fallen asleep, because he was still sitting in the armchair, a blanket now tucked up to his chin.

'I made you coffee.' Blaine turned his head slowly, eyes finding Kurt sitting on the couch, hands wrapped around his own mug. He turned back to the glass coffee table, a steaming mug resting there. He reached out eagerly, needing the liquid it contained to be able to function. He took a large mouthful, relishing the way that it scalded his throat.

'Thanks Kurt,' Blaine slurred, his voice still thick with sleep. Kurt hummed in response. 'Where's Rach? Has she just abandoned you?'

'Not really,' Kurt replied. 'I'm just trying to keep out of the way of her morning routine. Besides, she's far too chipper first thing in the morning.' Blaine knew exactly what Kurt meant, Rachel really was unbearable at this hour. After several moments, Kurt continued. 'So what do you actually do when you're not in Lima?'

'I'm studying in New York,' Blaine explained. 'I'm in my final year of a teaching degree.'

'A teaching degree in New York? Surely you could have just gone to Ohio State for that?'

'Yea, but that would have meant staying in Ohio. And, as I'm sure you know, being gay and Ohio don't mix.' Kurt smiled wryly at this. 'Besides, it's New York!'

'You're so lucky,' Kurt told him, 'getting to live in New York. I've always wanted to live there.'

'Yea?' Blaine asked him, amused. 'No wonder you're best friends with Rachel. She's been planning her future there since she was three.'

'Oh, I know,' Kurt responded, rolling his eyes. 'I have to listen to her go on about it all on a daily basis. Not to mention her various attempts to strong-arm me into NYADA. No matter how many times I tell her I'm gonna study fashion design.'

'Fashion design?' Blaine asked, curious to know more. He found himself looking carefully over Kurt's outfit, paying the boy far more attention than he had previously. Kurt clearly had a good fashion sense, and Blaine was sure he had a lot to say on the matter, but before the conversation could continue Rachel bustled into the room.

'C'mon Kurt, it's time to leave,' she told him, without looking. Instead she approached Blaine, ruffling his hair and kissing him on the cheek. 'Your hair's a mess.'

Blaine laughed at this, before calling after them. 'Have a good day.' The only response was the front door slamming shut.

Xxx

Blaine enjoyed having a day to himself. It was peaceful there, at home, away from the hustle and bustle of New York. He took a long shower, before spending a couple of hours working on his assignment. It was easier here, without the noise, without the stress, without the distractions. He was finally able to make progress on it.

When his family came home, Blaine was stretched out on the couch, reality tv playing in the background while he napped. His fathers were the first to arrive home, having carpooled together, arguing light-heartedly as they entered the house. Blaine stirred as they entered the lounge.

'Blaine, my boy,' LeRoy called, crossing the room to sit on the arm of the couch, clapping his hand on Blaine's shoulder.

'Dad!' Blaine responded, sitting up quickly to give him a hug. As Hiram approached, Blaine stuck an arm out towards him, pulling him into the hug.

'It's good to see you, son,' Hiram told him as they pulled away from each other. 'Your dad and I were just talking about how long it's been. We were thinking of organising something, but I guess we don't have to now.'

'Yea, it has been a while,' Blaine agreed, thinking back to when he last saw them. It must have been about three months ago, some stage during the summer. 'I've missed you guys so much.'

Hiram thought for a moment before speaking up. 'Tell you what, let's all go out for dinner tonight. And afterwards we can have an impromptu concert. We need to celebrate the fact that we're all together for the weekend. Wait, it is just the weekend, right? You haven't gone and dropped out of college or anything, have you?'

Blaine was quick to pacify his father, keen to reassure him that everything was still alright. As Hiram continued to panic, Blaine almost wished that Rachel was here instead. Sure she might be dramatic, but he was pretty sure she was nowhere near as bad as their dad.

Of course, five minutes later, when Rachel arrived home from glee club, Blaine immediately regretted thinking that. There was no way in hell that anyone was more dramatic than Rachel, the queen diva herself.

Xxx

Blaine woke gradually that Sunday morning. As he continued to doze, he snuggled deeper into the warmth of his blankets, burrowing his face into his pillow. He always forgot how comfortable this bed was, how familiar the pillow felt.

Full of regret, Blaine eventually accepted that he was now fully awake. Lying there, he began to think over the past couple of days, the time he'd spent with his family. The dinner they'd shared on the Friday night at Breadstix, followed by the craziness of them all bursting into song in their basement. Yesterday had been a more peaceful day. They'd watched a couple of musicals, played a long and involved game of charades, and ended up talking late into the night. Okay, Blaine had to admit, it didn't seem that peaceful, but by Anderberry standards it definitely was.

Hearing noises from the kitchen, Blaine rolled out of bed, hopeful that someone would be making breakfast. As he walked down the hallway, he ran a hand through his hair, pausing in the doorway to take in the scene. LeRoy was sitting at the breakfast bar, eating a bowl of cereal. Rachel and (Blaine wasn't sure what he was doing here at this hour) Kurt were standing opposite him, the three of them lost in conversation, Rachel holding forth as usual.

Blaine entered the room, slipping into a seat beside his father who turned to greet him. 'Morning Sleeping Beauty. You were obviously tired.' Blaine looked at his father in confusion, unsure what he meant until he caught sight of the clock. _11.05_. Maybe it wasn't so weird that Kurt was here.

Blaine eventually realised that everyone was watching him. 'So what's happening today?' He finally asked.

'Kurt and I are about to go shopping,' Rachel explained. 'You're more than welcome to come along.'

'It ought to be good,' Kurt added. 'Rachel's finally agreed to getting a new wardrobe.'

'She said she might,' LeRoy warned him. 'Actually Blaine, it might be good if you go along. Someone needs to make sure Kurt doesn't spend all my money.'

Blaine thought about it for a moment. But before he could reach a decision, Rachel was pulling him out of the chair. 'Hurry up, we're leaving in five minutes. Go and get dressed. And don't you dare spend five hours on your hair.' As Blaine stumbled back towards his room, he figured that his decision had been made for him. Not that he really minded. He enjoyed shopping and he hadn't been for some time. Besides, he was pretty keen to get some fashion advice from Kurt.

Xxx

Kurt and Blaine stood outside the dressing room of the third shop. While they waited for Rachel, they made conversation, pausing regularly as Rachel came out of the dressing room, Kurt casting a critical eye over her each time.

'So how long have you and Rachel been friends?' Blaine asked Kurt. 'I don't remember her mentioning you before.'

'We've been friends for quite a while,' Kurt explained, 'because of glee club. But we only really became close this year. Mainly because my last bestie ditched me for her new boyfriend. So I found myself having to get passed all her craziness, and I realised she's not actually all that bad.' Kurt must have clicked that he'd insulted Blaine's sister, because he clapped a hand over his mouth.

Blaine just laughed. 'Yea, she can be a bit much, can't she?'

Rachel appeared in the doorway at that moment, a red shirt on over her skirt. 'I can hear you two, you know,' she told them. Kurt just waved this away, as he started to jabber about how amazing the shirt was. Blaine couldn't quite see it; surely it was just a shirt?

As Rachel returned to the dressing room, Kurt turned back to Blaine. 'So I've been thinking. When I was a freshman, you must have been a senior at McKinley. But I don't remember you at all. Surely I'd have seen you around?'

'I tried to lay low during high school,' Blaine explained. 'The less people noticed me, the less they could bully me. I like to think it worked, for the most part.'

'You had a rough time at high school?' Kurt asked. 'I know what that's like. At least now it's getting a bit better. Even still, I can't wait till I get out of this town.'

Blaine could see the sadness in Kurt's eyes. He could see how much pain this brought to him. Kurt really was going through a hard time. He reached out, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder. 'If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you, okay? Even when I'm in New York, you can call or Facebook or whatever. I know what you're going through, I understand what it's like.'

Kurt gave a watery smile in response. Blaine thought he was about to say something as well, but at that moment Rachel returned, a pile of clothes over her arm. 'I think it's about time we got lunch,' she told them. Kurt and Blaine turned to obediently follow behind.

Xxx

After lunch at the food court (Blaine really couldn't understand how Kurt managed to find healthy food) where Rachel and Kurt spent the whole time discussing glee club, they continued shopping. As they passed Brooks Brothers, Blaine grabbed at Rachel's arm.

'Rach, please, can we go in here real quick?' He used his puppy dog eyes; surely they would work on her?

Rachel glanced over to Kurt who huffed a sigh. 'Well, there's no denying, your brother definitely needs my help.' Blaine looked down at his outfit. He was sure it wasn't that bad. Okay, so maybe it had been a bit rushed, but he did still look good. Didn't he?

They entered the store, and Blaine started browsing. He'd barely made any progress when Kurt arrived at his side, arms loaded with clothing. 'Go try these on,' he ordered, handing them over and propelling Blaine towards the dressing room.

Safely shut away, Blaine looked over the clothes he'd been given. Three polos (a size too big), a sweater, a cardigan, and a pair of (Blaine had to check the tag) full-length trousers. He began to change into the first outfit, emerging several minutes later in a polo, cardigan, and (full-length) trousers.

He stood before Kurt and Rachel, feeling uncomfortable as the former looked him over carefully. 'I was right,' Kurt eventually announced, stepping towards Blaine. 'This outfit looks great. You just need to do the buttons up on the cardi.' Stopping in front of Blaine, he reached out for the cardigan, fingers trailing down his front as he did the buttons up one by one. Blaine could feel Kurt's nimble fingers through his layers, and found himself subconsciously leaning into the touch. He noticed the way they grazed against his stomach, occasionally lingering a moment too long; hyperaware of every little movement.

'So are you going to get them?' Rachel asked suddenly, pulling Blaine out of his daze. He looked around in confusion, mumbling a quick 'probably' before hastening back to the dressing room.

What was wrong with him? The slightest physical contact from another guy, and suddenly he couldn't concentrate. Was he really that deprived? Blaine thought about it for a moment. It had been a while since he'd gotten any action he supposed; he'd been that preoccupied lately. As he changed into the next outfit, Blaine promised himself he'd try to rectify the situation when he got back to New York.

Xxx

Blaine was sat in the backseat of the car, on the way to the airport. For the past ten minutes, LeRoy and Hiram had been lecturing both him and Rachel about their spending habits. They had been horrified when Rachel had arrived home carrying three bags, all relatively full. It hadn't helped that Blaine had had a bag of his own, he was meant to have been the responsible one. And yet he'd turned up with two polos, a cardigan, and a sweater in his possession. As Hiram threatened for a third time to take their credit cards off them, Blaine spotted the airport in the distance.

'We're nearly there,' he announced to the car, his dads immediately quieting at the prospect of saying goodbye to their son.

'Make sure you come home again soon,' Hiram eventually said, as they entered the car park.


	2. Chapter 2

**So I really didn't expect to get this out so quickly.**

**Okay, so I meant to tell you last time, Blaine is in his third/final year of his teaching degree somewhere in NY. Kurt and Rachel are both seniors at high school. And I would like to apologise now, because I don't know huge amounts of detail about teaching degrees, but hopefully it will all hang together.**

It was strangely quiet when Blaine entered his apartment. Sam was probably out, he figured, most probably with his girlfriend. Having dumped his stuff in his room, he settled onto the couch, laptop open on his lap and tv playing in the background.

He'd barely opened Facebook when he heard a noise from behind him. 'Hey dude,' Sam called as he passed through into the kitchen. Blaine glanced up from the screen to see that Sam was in just his underwear.

'Gees Sam, why do you never wear clothes?'

Sam looked up from the fridge, confused. 'I hadn't actually realised you were home,' he explained. 'Just be thankful that I'm wearing any clothes at all.'

Blaine scowled, disturbed by the prospect. He considered asking about this particular instance of nakedness, when he heard the shower turn on. Well, that explained it. Clearly Sam's girlfriend was around.

Sam, having returned from the kitchen, flopped down on the couch next to Blaine. He leaned towards him, peering at the computer screen. 'Who's Kurt Hummel?' he asked. Blaine looked to the screen; Kurt had sent him a friend request.

'Just a friend of Rachel's that I met over the weekend,' he explained, clicking onto Kurt's profile.

'A gay friend of Rachel's,' Sam responded, having caught sight of Kurt's picture. 'Tap that did you?'

'Okay, one: don't make assumptions. Two: he's, like, seventeen. And three: he's going through some shit so I offered him some help.'

'Yea,' Sam said sarcastically, 'because you handle going through shit so well.'

'Shut up,' Blaine insisted, whacking him on the arm. 'This is different.'

'Whatever. So,' Sam changed the subject, 'got any plans for an exciting Sunday evening?'

'I'm going round to Sebastian's in a bit,' Blaine replied as he continued to navigate Facebook.

Sam looked confused. 'Isn't it a bit early?' he asked. 'I thought you two only did late night booty calls.'

'Normally,' Blaine responded in the most bored tone he could muster. 'But then again, we haven't seen each other in a while.'

'Ok,' Sam got back up off the couch, a knowing grin on his face. 'Just don't have too much fun dude.'

Xxx

Blaine hated the walk of shame. Absolutely hated it. His clothes were wrinkled. His hair was a mess. He was relieved when he managed to make it to the end of Sebastian's hallway without being spotted. But getting into the elevator, he joined two men in suits and a mother with her young daughter. As he stood there awkwardly, he did his best to avoid the others and the silent judgement they were all giving him.

He didn't know why Sebastian always turfed him out so early. First thing in the morning, as soon as they awoke, it was time for him to leave. No having a shower, no shared breakfast. Not even a goodbye kiss.

As he emerged from Sebastian's apartment building, Blaine noticed that the sky was still gradually lightening. It was barely past dawn. As he walked, Blaine endeavoured to keep to the edge of the sidewalk, trying to hide in the shadows. He did his best to avoid everyone's attention, to fend of the feelings of shame that came with the stares he received. Why couldn't the neighbourhood be busier at this hour of the morning?

No, Blaine told himself, as another wave of embarrassment threatened, he wasn't going to think like this. He wasn't going to let these people, who didn't know the first thing about him, affect him. He wasn't going to allow their judgements make him feel ashamed. This was empowering, what he had with Sebastian. He enjoyed what they were doing; it made him feel good about himself. These people had no right to stare, no matter how much Sebastian had marked him last night. It was none of their business if he was going home now, at this early hour of the morning. This was his decision, to do this, and every little part of it felt right.

Even if James would never have kicked Blaine out of his bed.

Xxx

For about a week, everything went really well for Blaine. His time in Lima had left him refreshed. His head was clear. He could think straight. And he could handle everything that life was throwing at him.

Soon, everything began to fall in again though. He could no longer tune out the noise of the builders. The assignment that he'd spent so much time stressing over was returned to him; they had a week to revise them. All the professors were putting more and more pressure on them as the semester dragged on. And, of course, he still had his group assignment. Which had just gotten a whole lot worse. Someone had decided that Blaine and James should be responsible for writing the report together; working alongside each other to organise the mess of research that the group as a whole had done.

They met at the library on the following Thursday, straight after lunch, as neither of them had class for the rest of the day. Blaine had been dreading this all week; by now, his stomach was a bundle of nerves. It had been bad enough earlier, the closeness that he'd had to endure when the whole group was there. But now, he wouldn't be able to avoid talking directly to James, he wouldn't be able to just ignore his presence. And it was going to be super hard.

Blaine hadn't spoken a single word to James since they'd broken up eight months and nine days ago.

As Blaine approached the entrance to the university library, he spotted James standing there waiting for him. 'Hey, Blaine,' he greeted as Blaine came to a stop beside him; he sounded far too calm. Blaine just nodded in response.

They made their way into the library, quickly finding a table where they could sit. They began to work quietly, only speaking to one another when the need arose, only ever speaking about what they should write next. Blaine couldn't help but notice how calmly James always spoke. It began to annoy him. He himself was uncomfortable, on edge, completely unable to focus. Every time that James opened his mouth, offering another calm, intelligent suggestion, Blaine found himself getting more and more annoyed. By the time they were reaching the halfway mark, he wasn't able to handle it anymore.

'I think we're making good progress, Blaine,' James remarked as he took a sip of water. 'We make quite a good team, really.'

Blaine finally broke, his anger and annoyance bursting out. He could tell that this was going to escalate quickly. 'You're acting weird James, like nothing ever happened between us. How can you do that?'

'Well, it was a while ago Blaine,' James replied, still calm. 'It's all in the past now, y'know?'

'No, no I don't,' Blaine responded, his voice now slightly too loud for a library. 'I loved you, James, and you act like it's nothing. Which, I suppose, it was to you.'

James was starting to get a little rattled. 'Don't be ridiculous Blaine. Of course it meant something to me. I really cared about you.'

'Sure you did. That's why you dumped me for what's-his-face wanker-douche.' Blaine sucked at insults when he was this emotional. 'Wait . . . is it true that you two moved in together?'

'Well, yea,' James was starting to sound more controlled again. 'I mean, we have been dating for nine months now.'

'Nine months?' Blaine asked, his brain working overtime. 'You mean . . . you mean . . . Did you cheat on me?'

'Yea, sorry bout that.' Blaine could see that he clearly wasn't sorry at all. As James continued to smile disarmingly, Blaine started to grab up all his belongings, hastily shoving everything into his satchel as he got up from the table. As he started to walk away, James called after him, 'So I guess I'll finish the report then?'

As Blaine left the library, he willed himself not to cry. When he got back to his apartment, he could cry as much as he wanted, but not until then. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't make it.

Xxx

Blaine was on the couch, curled in on himself, tear tracks down his cheeks, when Sam arrived home from his afternoon classes. Blaine choked back a sob as he heard the front door slam shut, relieved that he was no longer alone. Sam, having obviously heard him, was immediately beside him, surveying the damages.

'Hey buddy, what happened?' he asked, placing a consoling hand on Blaine's knee. Between choked breaths, fresh tears returning, Blaine managed to recount his study session with James. When he'd finished, quiet save for the occasional sob, Sam pulled him up, into a hug.

'Okay, here's what we're going to do,' he explained, hands on Blaine's shoulders. 'You're going to go change into sweats, and I'm going to get the ice cream. Then we're going to watch a chick flick. _When Harry Met Sally_ sound alright to you?'

'Only if I get to be Meg Ryan,' Blaine joked, already making his way shakily to his room. Sam laughed in response, despite having heard the quip countless times before.

Xxx

An hour and a half later, and the credits were rolling. Both boys were curled up on the couch, a blanket stretched between them. An empty Ben and Jerry's carton sat on the coffee table.

Sam sat up, stretching arms and legs while suppressing a yawn. 'Feeling better about James?' he asked.

'James who?' Blaine responded, sounding braver than he felt.

Sam punched him lightly on the shoulder. 'That's my boy.' Blaine knew what was going to happen next; Sam was about to turn this into a massive playfight. As Blaine braced himself for the coming impact, a phone began to ring on the other side of the room. Confused, he looked around, vaguely recognising the ringtone as his own. Eventually, he realised he must have thrown it earlier in the afternoon, in one of his moments of rage.

However, before Blaine could roll himself off of the couch, Sam was answering his phone. 'Blaine's resident housekeeper. How may I be of service?' Blaine watched as a smile slowly spread across Sam's face. 'Ah, so you're the elusive Kurt Hummel. I hear Blaine's helping you deal with some issues. You know, I don't think Blaine's really the best person to be helping with that.' A brief pause. 'Well, you see, Blaine's not very good at dealing with his own issues. At least if the past two hours of my life are anything to go by.' By now Sam was grinning like a maniac. Blaine, having managed to untangle himself from the blanket and get up off the floor, lunged for Sam, grabbing the phone away from him.

'Hey Kurt,' Blaine panted out while holding Sam off at arm's length. 'Sorry about my roommate. Someone thought it would be safe to let him out of the zoo.'

Kurt laughed at this. 'Oh, c'mon, he didn't sound that bad.'

'You don't live with him.' Suddenly, Blaine remembered his agreement with Kurt, that he could ring if things got tough. 'Kurt, are you alright? Is everything alright?'

There was a pause on the other end of the line. 'Yea, um, well, mostly. Something just happened today, and so I was talking to Rachel about it. But she couldn't really understand, cos she hadn't really been through anything like that before, y'know? And so she said that I should call you. But it's not that big of an issue. It's not important. And you've got other stuff to deal with. So I shouldn't have – '

Blaine interrupted Kurt's rambling. 'Kurt, really, you can tell me. I'm fine, and this is obviously important. So spill.'

As Blaine waited for Kurt to start talking, he looked around the living room. Sam had disappeared, no doubt hiding in his room having grasped the seriousness of the conversation. 'It's not really all that bad,' Kurt began. 'Nothing really that hasn't happened before. These guys were just saying – Well, actually, this is kinda awkward to tell you. Cos it was stuff about your dads.'

Blaine could hear the apprehension in Kurt's voice. 'Kurt it's okay. I promise you, I've heard all this before. So you can tell me.'

Kurt huffed a deep sigh. 'They were just saying that the reason I hang out with Rachel is actually because of your dads. That I'm their little plaything. They were making all these crass remarks, and Rachel overheard it. So, naturally, she wanted to talk about it. And it just got to me. I don't even know why.'

Blaine could hear how worked up Kurt was getting. He had to do something to calm him down. 'You're definitely not the first person to have heard those things,' he told Kurt. 'Those kinds of comments were the favourite ones for my tormentors. They were always suggesting that my dads specifically created a gay son to fulfil some kind of weird kink. Kind of like their very own Rocky.' Kurt let out a choked laugh at this. 'It was hard sometimes. But I had to remember that I knew it wasn't true. That I knew my dads weren't like that.'

'Yea,' Kurt agreed. 'I do know that. But I still find myself questioning sometimes. And it kind of makes me doubt myself. But the worst part definitely has to be that Rachel had to hear that. For her to hear those kinds of things about her fathers really sucks.'

'It does suck,' Blaine agreed. 'But she has heard a lot of those things before. She's grown up having had to hear a lot of slander about both of them, and about me as well. I know it doesn't make it ok, but she really is pretty strong when it comes to this stuff.'

Kurt laughed at this. 'I can't believe we're actually getting worried for The Miss Rachel Anderberry. If there was ever anybody who could look after themselves, it would have to be her.'

'I know what you mean,' Blaine said, sinking back down onto the couch. 'You should have seen the way she would advocate for herself when she got in trouble as a kid. Always threatening Dad with all sorts of legal action. Generally promising to get the other dad involved.'

By this stage, Kurt was giggling uncontrollably. 'I can so imagine her doing that. Oh, Blaine, I think you just made my evening.'

Blaine smiled into the phone. 'I'm really glad, Kurt. Look, I hate to be rude, but if everything's alright, is it okay if I head off? I lost a couple of hours out of my day today, and I feel like I have a million things to do.'

'Yea, that's fine. Thanks for everything Blaine, it really helped a lot to be able to talk about it all.'

'You're more than welcome,' Blaine responded, sincerity in his tone. 'I'm just sorry that I can't fix it all for you. But you'll get through it, I know you will.'

'Thanks Blaine,' Kurt almost sounded hesitant. 'So, um, I guess I'll talk to you later. So, uh, see ya.'

'See ya Kurt.' Blaine pushed the end button on his phone, before continuing to stare at it for a few minutes. It really sucked, what was happening to Kurt. The same things had happened to him when he was younger, and it had been awful. There was no way that Blaine could ever want anyone to go through those things. But somehow, the fact that it was Kurt who was experiencing it made it all the more worse.

Xxx

Monday afternoon, Blaine was sitting in the lounge, laptop open. Sam was sitting at the table in the corner of the room, pretending to read his textbook.

'Hey,' Blaine looked up as Sam addressed him, 'isn't your placement starting soon? When do you find out what school you're at?'

Blaine was slightly distracted as he responded, clicking through pages and logging into the university website. 'Yea, it's two weeks today. So I should be finding out soon. Hang on,' as the page loaded, a message popped up. 'The information's here now. Oh, and yay, I'm gonna be at a school in Kenton.'

Sam looked confused, unsure why that could cause so much excitement. 'And where, exactly, is this Kenton place?'

'Oh, um, right,' Blaine seemed momentarily thrown. 'It's near Lima. Which means I can stay with my family while I'm on placement.'

'That's pretty cool, dude. You'll have to call your parents, they'll be super stoked.' Blaine began to pull out his phone. 'Put it on speaker, I want to hear this, it ought to be good.'

Blaine dialled the number, waiting while the ringing sound resounded through the quiet room. 'Blaine, is that you?' Blaine heard his dad, Hiram he assumed, answer.

'Yup, Dad, it's me. And Sam's here too.'

'Hi Mr Dad,' Sam called from the armchair he'd moved to. Sam had always been amused that Blaine called both his fathers 'dad'. Somehow, that had resulted in him referring to both of them as Mr Dad. No one quite knew how that made any sense, but Blaine had given up trying to understand Sam a long time ago.

'Hi Sam. And you too, Blaine.' There was a pause followed by quiet muttering on the other end of the phone. 'Dad's here as well, so I'm going to put you on speakerphone, ok?'

There was a pause before LeRoy's voice was heard over the phone. 'Blaine, hi.'

'Hey, Dad,' Blaine responded, at the same time as Sam chorused, 'Hi Mr Dad.'

'So I've got some exciting news,' Blaine continued, trying to spare his dads from Sam; they never quite knew how to handle him. 'I've just found out where I'm going for placement.'

'Let me guess,' LeRoy cut in. 'You're going to Hawaii?'

'That would be nice,' Hiram added. 'We could go and visit you, and then spend all day at the beach instead.'

Blaine laughed at this. 'Actually, I don't think visiting me will be all that exciting. But maybe you can help me out with some accommodation? Cos I'm gonna be teaching in Kenton.'

'That's fantastic, son,' Hiram told him. 'You'll have to come stay with us.'

'That's very generous of you, Mr Dad,' Sam offered.

'Sam,' Hiram chided. 'How many times do I have to tell you to call me Hiram?'

'That's okay Mr Dad,' Sam responded. 'I can't actually tell you two apart. And it's even harder on the phone.'

'Anyway,' Blaine continued before the conversation got away from him. 'I start in two weeks' time. And I'll be there for three weeks. And it's gonna be super awesome.'

'Too right it is,' LeRoy agreed. 'We'll finally be able to do concerts again for the neighbours. We haven't done one in so long.'

Blaine really wasn't sure that was a good idea. 'I think I might be a little too old for that now Dad.'

'Hell no,' Sam interrupted. 'You should totally do one. I would definitely fly out just to see it.'

'No Sam. I really don't think you should. And, please, don't encourage them.' Blaine could see that Sam was about to respond, so he turned back to the phone that was still in his hand. 'Look Dads, I've got to go, I have to go have an argument with an idiot. But I'll see you both real soon, ok? And can you guys tell Rach for me?'

Having hung up the phone, Blaine turned to Sam, who had a chesire grin on his face. 'You know Blaine, I think Katy Perry's just released a new single.'

**Ok, so I really like Blam friendship. They go and get all amusing on me. But I feel kinda bad cos I haven't worked much out for Sam yet. I don't even know what he studies. And I'm not really sure what to do about his gf either. Part of me wants to make it that Blaine hasn't actually met her, and for him to be super surprised by who it is. Thoughts?**

**Also there will be a whole lot more Klaine soon, cos Blaine's about to go back to Lima. But it's really important for me to look at the rest of his life as well.**

**Hope you're enjoying!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Please check out the new kiddy!Klaine drabble that I posted today.**

**To the guest reviewer, I used your suggestion for Sam's gf. Hopefully I did it justice.**

**Also, just to warn you, there is a bit later in this chapter which is def rated T. Because Sebastian.**

It was Wednesday evening, nearly time for Blaine to go back to Ohio. He was flying out tomorrow afternoon so was now spending his time packing his bags.

Sam arrived in the doorway, fiddling with the cuff of his shirt. 'Hey Blaine, do you think this outfit looks alright? I've got a really fancy date tonight.'

Blaine looked him over carefully before answering. 'Well, if I were you, I would probably button up the shirt, but other than that it's good.'

Sam glanced down at his bare chest, as if surprised to see it exposed. After a moment, he began to do the buttons up. Blaine, who had continued to pack, realised that Sam hadn't made any move to leave. He turned back towards him.

'Sam, I was just wondering. You must have been in this relationship for over a month now. How come I haven't met your girlfriend yet?'

'You haven't met her?' Sam seemed to think about this. 'It's not really intentional dude. Well, not completely. But then again, it almost seems a bit serious having her meet you. Kinda like meeting the parents.'

Now Blaine was just completely confused. 'How on earth can you compare me to your parents?'

'Well, there's no denying that you're the more responsible of the two of us. And you nag me about doing chores, just like my mum used to.' Blaine nodded in agreement, by Sam's standards that actually made sense. Sam continued speaking. 'Tell you what. I'll bring her back after dinner, that way you can meet her. And hey, that suddenly works out pretty well for me.'

Blaine grimaced in response, making a mental note to not pack his earplugs just yet.

Xxx

Blaine spent the evening catching up on his DVR. He was relishing the fact that he didn't have any assignments to work on. He also didn't need to worry about preparing any lesson plans yet; he'd be spending his first week in the class just hanging out with the kids. Kind of like everyone's favourite uncle – or at least, that's what he told himself.

He was nearly finished his last episode of Downton Abbey when he heard a key in the lock. Sam was obviously home. Blaine screwed himself around in his seat, watching as Sam entered the apartment, leading a girl inside.

'Oh, hi Blaine,' Sam called. 'Um, meet my girlfriend, Tina.'

As the girl stepped up next to Sam, Blaine was momentarily thrown. Sure, he probably had heard Sam mention Tina by name before. But New York was a huge place, the chances of him actually knowing Sam's girlfriend were tiny. 'Tay Tay?' he eventually asked, not sure he could believe it. He hadn't even known that Tina was in New York.

'Oh my gosh, Blaine? You're Sam's roommate?' Tina seemed just as surprised.

Sam really had no idea as to what was going on. 'Wait, you two know each other? Will someone please explain this to me?'

'Sure,' Tina responded, pulling him down to sit on the couch with her. 'Blaine and I went to high school together. We were really close, but then we just lost contact when Blaine graduated.'

Sam seemed to accept this, as he didn't say anything further. After a few moments of silence, Blaine spoke up. 'So what are you doing in New York, Tina? I had no idea you were here.'

'I'm at the Actors' Studio,' she explained. 'It's pretty amazing. And I'm really sorry that I never got in touch. By the time I got to New York, we hadn't spoken in, like, a year. I was worried that I left it too long.' Blaine was shocked to see Tina begin to cry, tears beginning to stream down her face. Sure, she had always been over-emotional, but Blaine was still surprised.

Sam was uncomfortable at the sight of Tina's tears, patting her hand awkwardly. Blaine was slightly amused to notice that Sam seemed to deal with his emotions better than he dealt with Tina's.

'Tina, please don't worry about it,' Blaine insisted, taking her other hand. 'It's really my fault. I shouldn't have just ignored you the moment I left Lima. But that doesn't matter anyway. What's more important is that we've found each other again. Even if it was Sam who brought us together.'

'I see you're assuming that I'm going to forgive you there Bling-Bling.' The malice of Tina's words were lessened by the laugh in her voice.

'You've made dumber decisions,' Blaine told her. 'I mean, you are dating Sam after all.'

'Hey,' Sam reacted to this. 'I'm a catch.'

'Of course you are honey,' Tina told him, squeezing his hand. 'Of course you are.'

'So, anyway,' Sam continued, 'now you two can say you've met. Babe, do you wanna go watch The Avengers in my room? Let Blaine travel back to the 1950's.'

'Oh honey, Downton Abbey is set post-Edwardian. And can't we watch something a little more classic?'

'That's what I said,' Sam told her emphatically, leading her out of the room. 'And also, you can't get any more classic than The Avengers.'

Xxx

Blaine was waiting patiently at baggage claim when he felt two sets of arms wrap around him, one from either side. Having recovered from his momentary panic, Blaine let out what sounded like a squeal.

'Dads!' He did his best to hug them both back.

'So excited to see you,' LeRoy told him, attempting to ruffle his carefully gelled hair.

Hiram was busy looking round with trepidation. 'Sam didn't sneak his way onto your flight did he?'

'No, no,' Blaine laughed at his father's concern. 'You only have the one son for now.'

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Hiram responded. 'Finn always seems to be around at the moment, studying supposedly. Speaking of which, Rachel decided for some reason that he needed to come to the airport as well.'

'He should be around here somewhere,' LeRoy continued, taking on Hiram's role of scanning the surrounding area. 'How hard can it be to find a hulking giant in an airport?'

Blaine began to wonder the same thing, suddenly doubting his father's powers of observation when he found himself engulfed in a hug. It was definitely awkward, he decided, being hugged by a guy he'd only met a handful of times before. It was made even worse by their marked height difference.

'Finn Hudson, stop hogging my brother,' Blaine heard Rachel's unmistakable tone. 'You're depriving him of valuable sister time.' Blaine suddenly found new arms being flung around him. 'Oh, Blaine, I'm sure you're pleased to see me.'

'Of course, Rach,' he told her. 'But right now I'll be more pleased to see my bed. I didn't sleep that well last night.' Turned out his earplugs didn't work that well after all.

Xxx

Over the next few days, Blaine began to get used to Finn's presence in the house. Usually, he and Rachel would spend most of their time holed up in her room, but they spent enough time with their homework spread across the kitchen table that neither Hiram nor LeRoy asked too many questions.

Blaine, however, wasn't so easily fooled. He knew that they weren't really having study sessions. But then again, his room was right next door to Rachel's, and Finn was a little overenthusiastic when it came to making out. Blaine almost preferred having to put up with Sam; at least in that instance he wasn't related to one of the people involved.

When he came home from Kenton on the Tuesday therefore, he was expecting Rachel and Finn to be somewhere in the house once again. After all, Finn had been around every day since he'd been home so far. It kind of almost sucked really, like Rachel wasn't really excited that he was in Lima.

So Blaine really wasn't surprised when he entered the kitchen to find Finn and Rachel at the kitchen table. He was, however, surprised to see that Kurt was also with them. Obviously, today's study session was legit, not just a thinly veiled excuse for a make out session.

'Hey guys,' he called, dropping his bag in a corner of the room, and turning to rifle through the fridge. There was a general chorus of greeting in return. Blaine found himself a space at the table, a container of leftovers in front of him. 'So what are you doing here, Kurt?' he asked. 'I wouldn't have thought it would be safe to risk all the PDA.'

'Yea, I was a bit concerned,' Kurt responded. 'But we've got a couple of tests coming up. And Rachel decided that Finn isn't the most effective study partner. So I'm here to actually giving her a chance at learning something.'

'So how's it going?' Blaine asked them all. He noticed the pile of paper scraps in front of Finn. He'd probably given up trying a long time ago.

'Pretty good,' Rachel replied. 'I think I understand most of it now. But I'm getting sick of Kurt complaining. Y'know, the rest of us are happy to just pass Spanish, but he reckons he wants an A. But he doesn't seem to realise that even Mr Schue wouldn't be able to help him achieve that.'

'Well, gee, I'm so sorry Rachel,' Kurt snarked. 'I'm sorry that I actually take my education seriously.'

'Yes, but Kurt, we don't even have a Spanish test for another two weeks. I don't know why you're so bothered.'

Kurt didn't dignify this with a response. Blaine waited a couple of moments, before speaking up. 'You know Kurt, I took a couple of Spanish papers at college. I could tutor you if you wanted. Free of charge, just because you're a friend of Rachel's.'

'Oh really, you would do that?' Kurt gushed. 'That would be amazing.'

'Of course,' Blaine responded. 'I can't do tomorrow, because I have a meeting after school. But how about Thursday? I shouldn't be home too late.' He stood up from the table, food now eaten. He dumped the container in the sink before grabbing his bag and heading to his room.

Xxx

The staff meeting that Blaine had to attend that Wednesday was really not interesting. Most of the time, they were discussing things that didn't even vaguely relate to him. As a result, he spent most of his time thinking over his first few days of placement.

He was really enjoying his time with the kids. He was working in a first grade class, which, he thought, had to be his favourite age. For now, their usual teacher, Sophie, was teaching them, so Blaine just got to wander around the class, lending a hand when needed – helping one kid spell a word, talking another one through a difficult maths question.

The kids in his class were great. They were so curious, eager to learn new things. They were friendly, and enjoyed having fun, and Blaine was surprised at how funny some of them were. They all seemed to really like their new teacher, Mr A, as well, which pleased Blaine. Every time he ventured outside, he would be surrounded by a small group of them, some of them dragging along friends from other classes. They would all want him to see the new trick they'd learnt on the monkey bars, or have him play a game of catch, or beg him to show them that magic thing just one more time. Yes, it was safe to say the kids in Blaine's class liked him. And he hadn't even pulled out his guitar yet.

Xxx

Thursday afternoon, Blaine pulled into the driveway, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. He hoped Kurt hadn't been waiting too long. He put the car in park, once again thanking his lucky stars that his dads had never sold their second car, despite the fact it was hardly ever used.

He rushed into the house, quickly finding Rachel and Kurt sitting in the lounge, legs pulled up underneath them as they sat on the couch.

'Sorry I'm late,' he panted out, trying to catch his breath. Had he really worked himself up that much about being late? 'Sophie wanted to have a long and involved conversation about my lesson plan for next week.'

'That's ok,' Rachel assured him. 'Kurt and I used the time to plan your next study session. The three of us are gonna hang out on Saturday afternoon and then you two are gonna study in the evening, while I go on a date with Finn.'

'Umm, all right then. Thanks, I guess, Rachel.' Blaine turned to Kurt. 'Well, shall we get our first tutoring session underway then?'

'I'll be in my room,' Rachel told them. 'Conjugating verbs makes my brain melt. And I wouldn't want anything to affect my musical ear. Besides, I promised Finn I'd call him.'

Blaine led Kurt to the kitchen table, sitting down at the end. 'She does realise there's more to Spanish than conjugating verbs, doesn't she?' he asked as Kurt took the seat next to him.

'I'd assume so,' Kurt responded. 'But I think she was actually referring to the fact that I wanted to work on conjugation. The moment the verbs become irregular, Mr Schue suddenly has no idea what he's talking about.'

They set to work, Blaine going over all the irregular verbs he could remember, while Kurt made painfully neat notes. They made good progress, and soon they moved on to complex sentence structures, most of which involved awkward tenses.

Blaine was surprised when he suddenly heard voices coming down the hall. They'd obviously gotten absorbed in the work, because time had flown by, and now his dads had arrived home.

'Hey boys,' LeRoy called as he entered the kitchen. 'How's the tutoring session going?'

'Good thanks,' Kurt replied, looking up from the sentences he'd been translating into Spanish. 'Oh, but, um, I should get going Blaine. It's getting late.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' LeRoy told him. 'I insist that you stay for dinner.'

Kurt looked hesitant, chewing his bottom lip as he thought. 'Well, if you're sure. I'll just have to text my dad and check it's ok.'

Several minutes later, just as LeRoy was beginning to cook the meal, Kurt received a reply to say it was fine. 'Can I give you a hand at all?' he asked LeRoy, rushing into the kitchen.

'No, no,' LeRoy insisted. 'I'm perfectly fine. But what you both can do is park yourself at the breakfast bar. I want someone to talk to while I cook.'

They both sat themselves down obediently. No one said anything for a few moments until Blaine spoke up, his curiosity peaking. 'Where's Dad?' he asked LeRoy. He hadn't actually seen him at all.

'Oh, he's talking to Rachel,' LeRoy replied cheerfully. 'She's racked up quite the phone bill, and we decided he would be the better one for giving her a lecture.' Blaine nodded in agreement; he'd been on the receiving end of a few too many of Hiram's lectures, they were never fun.

The silence returned as something began to sizzle in the pan. 'So Kurt,' LeRoy began, 'I hear you're planning on moving to New York. Are you going to go to NYADA with Rachel?'

'No,' Blaine replied for him. 'He's planning to study fashion design. And besides, Rachel hasn't actually got in yet.'

'Oh, that's a shame,' LeRoy muttered absently, ignoring Blaine's last comment. 'It would have been good for Rachel to have a friendly face at that school. Oh well.' He paused, as if lost in thought. 'What about that brother of yours then? Is Finn going to New York with you all as well?'

'No, not that I'm aware,' Kurt responded for himself this time. 'I think he's planning on working at my dad's garage. Not that Rachel's very pleased about that.'

'I'm sure she'll be alright,' LeRoy assured him. 'At least she'll have you. And Blaine, you'll still be in New York, won't you?'

'Hopefully,' he told his dad. 'I'm sure I'll be able to find a teaching job somewhere in the city. So I should be able to keep an eye on these two.'

Kurt seemed relieved at this news. 'Well, at least I'll have one friend there who'll know their way around then.'

'Yea,' Blaine replied. 'Yea, you will.' He didn't know why, but part of him really liked the fact that Kurt considered him a friend.

Xxx

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. Well, at least, that was what the weather was like when Blaine finally drew open his curtains at eleven thirty. Apparently, having to get up early to go to placement was really tiring him out.

Blaine had just managed to shower and dress when he heard the doorbell go. He ignored it, figuring Rachel would get it, until he heard it go a second time. As he rushed to the front door, he noticed that his dads were already out. Hiram had mentioned something last night about going shopping. Blaine knew he wouldn't see any signs of them for hours.

Blaine had already ushered Kurt inside by the time Rachel showed up, her arms laden with songbooks. 'Are you two ready to help me shortlist songs for my NYADA audition?' she asked them.

'Rach, I thought we were meant to be hanging out and having fun,' Blaine whined. 'Not putting up with your inner diva.'

'But this is important,' she chastised him. 'My audition could be as little as two months away. We need to begin this progress.'

'Fine,' Blaine huffed. 'But only for a little while. And then we get to do something fun.' The three of them plopped down into seats in the lounge, each taking a book and starting to page through. For the most part, they were silent, occasionally speaking up to suggest a song, most of which Rachel instantly vetoed. Sometimes, one of them would come across a song that seemed particularly unreasonable. These too would also be suggested, and then they would proceed to joke about someone actually auditioning with that song. It was kind of ridiculous, Blaine knew, but at the same time, he couldn't help but find it intensely amusing.

Within an hour, they had completely bored of the activity, all except for Rachel. But then again, Blaine couldn't imagine that Rachel would ever bore of preparing potential performances. They tried to think of something to do instead, but for ages no one could come up with a good idea.

'Why don't we do some baking?' Rachel eventually suggested. 'Kurt, you're baking is absolutely amazing. And Blaine, well, you could definitely do with some lessons.'

Kurt seemed keen on the idea, but Blaine wasn't quite so sure. 'Please tell me we're not going to have to make vegan food,' he begged.

Rachel thought for a moment. 'Well, we could do a couple of different things,' she told him. 'They don't all have to be vegan.'

At this, Blaine eagerly agreed, and they all moved into the kitchen to begin the baking process. With Kurt instructing them, Rachel and Blaine found all the ingredients they would need, at the same time pulling out equipment as well.

Following Kurt's instructions, they carefully began to prepare mixtures, the two of them working on different recipes. Blaine couldn't help but be amused by Kurt's bossiness, the way his techniques had to be carried out perfectly. As Blaine worked, Kurt hovered over him making sure everything was exact.

'It says half a cup of sugar, Blaine,' he scolded, as the measuring cup hovered precariously over the bowl. 'Not half a cup plus a sugar hill.'

'Well, what am I supposed to do, then?' Blaine asked, perplexed, confused as to how baking could be so difficult.

'Here, like this,' Kurt told him, taking his hand and guiding the measuring cup so it was back over the bag. With his other hand, Kurt grabbed a knife, running it over the back of the cup, the extra sugar (mostly) returning to the bag. 'Now it can go in the bowl.'

The next step was to add an egg, and Blaine did so carefully, trying his best to get it right. Apparently, however, he got bits of eggshell in the mixture, and he was made to fish it out. As he smeared the last bit of eggshell onto the bench, Kurt's attention returned to him, having finished helping Rachel. 'Blaine, you're making a mess.'

'A mess, you say?' Blaine asked, unable to help himself. 'You mean, like this?' He ran one eggy finger down the length of Kurt's face, leaving a slimy trail in its wake. 'You know, you made a bit of a mess too.' With that, he dipped his remaining fingers in the sugar that lay on the bench; the resulting mixture was wiped off on Kurt's cheek.

Watching the evil grin appear on Kurt's face, Blaine could tell this was about to escalate. But before anything could happen, they were distracted by the sound of the phone ringing.

'Hello, Anderberry household,' Rachel answered the phone, voice sounding overly bright. She was quiet for a moment, before she burst out, sounding scandalised. 'Excuse me?' Another moment, then she turned to Blaine. 'Phone's for you.'

Wiping his hands, he took the phone from her, walking out into the hallway. As he put the phone to his ear, he heard a sharp voice. 'Bloody hell, Blaine, why are you so difficult to get hold of?'

He knew that voice; it was Sebastian. 'Bas, what are you doing ringing my home phone?'

'Hey,' the voice was harsh, 'that's Sebastian to you.' Sebastian hated anything that resembled pet names. Right at the moment though, Blaine didn't particularly care.

'We had an agreement Bas. You're not supposed to ring my home phone.'

There was a low growl on the other end. 'Yea, well your cell was going straight to voicemail,' Blaine vaguely remembered that it needed charging, it must have shut itself off. 'And I needed to hear you.'

'Sebastian, what are you talking – '

'I need to get off,' Sebastian told him, a hint of a whine to his voice. 'And I can't do that without your pathetic whining. I need to hear you begging, begging for my dick like the little cockslut that you are.'

Blaine felt his own body react to Sebastian's words. Suddenly, he realised that he was still standing in the hallway, and quickly made his way to the downstairs bathroom. Part of him felt that he should be heading to his room instead, since it was further away. But he knew that Sebastian didn't like to be kept waiting.

He slid down to the floor, back against the cabinets as he started to satisfy Sebastian's needs. To be honest, the attempt was half-hearted, but even still the words, coupled with the sounds coming across the phone, were definitely having an effect on him. As he sat there, his spare palm found its way to the front of his jeans.

As Sebastian came down from his high, he continued to growl into the phone. 'Not your best effort, boy, but I guess you'll keep. But you better impress me next time.'

Blaine was filled with worry; there was going to be a next time? 'Babe, please, don't call me while I'm in Lima.'

'Blaine,' Sebastian sounded furious, 'what the hell do you think you're saying? Since when did you tell me what to do?'

Blaine heard a dial tone in his ear; Sebastian had hung up on him. He immediately felt guilty. How could he talk to Sebastian like that? And why hadn't he made more of an effort for him? He would call him tonight, he finally decided. He would call him tonight, and beg him for punishment. After all, he deserved it, and besides, it would definitely please Sebastian. As he started to think about exactly what he would say, Blaine finally found himself getting some relief.

Xxx

When Blaine returned to the kitchen, Kurt and Rachel were just tidying up. Rachel turned to him, her look one of disgust. 'You're boyfriend is a kinky freak,' she told him.

'Sebastian's not my boyfriend,' Blaine responded meekly.

Rachel thought about this for a moment, 'Well, your fuckbuddy's a kinky freak then.' Blaine didn't say anything in response. At least by Rachel's standards, it was probably true, especially given that he didn't know what Sebastian had said when she'd answered the phone.

The three of them continued to tidy up, Blaine unable to make eye contact with either of the other two. The residual embarrassment was too great.

Just as they were pulling their baking out of the oven, Hiram and LeRoy arrived home, four servings of Chinese in hand.

Rachel sat at the head of the table, watching the others eat. Finn was picking her up in an hour to go to Breadstix. 'So how was your shopping trip?' she asked her fathers.

'Great,' LeRoy replied, sarcasm evident. 'It was bad enough having to buy new furnishings for the guest room, I'd already known that was going to take all day. But somewhere along the line, your dad decided that we should redo the whole house, and so we've come home with paint charts and swatches and everything.'

'I can't help it,' Hiram retorted. 'It's not my fault that we found the most gorgeous navy duvet cover. And that it inspired me to do an old world French theme.'

Blaine noticed Kurt's ears prick up at this. 'Oh that sounds divine,' he enthused. 'What sorts of colours are you planning?' As Kurt and Hiram got lost in conversation, the other three did their best to tune them out.

'Your dinner smells so good Blaine,' Rachel told him, watching a little too intensely.

'Do you want some?' he asked, spiking a piece on his fork. 'Look, yummy chicken.'

'Eww, maybe not,' she responded. 'I think I might actually go get ready.'

As she left, Kurt and Hiram turned back towards the other two. 'Blaine,' his father asked him, 'is it okay if you and Kurt miss your tutoring session today? Kurt's said he'll help me with my design plans.'

'Umm, sure I guess,' Blaine replied, somewhat bemused. 'I suppose we can just put it off till Monday.'

'Great,' LeRoy added, 'that means you can watch a movie with me. I need some Rent to recover from the horrors of today.' Blaine smiled in agreement. Yea, he thought, he did too.


	4. Chapter 4

On Monday, Kurt came around after dinner. It was just as well Blaine realised because by the time he'd made it home that day, it had been nearly dinner time. Having taught his class for the first time that day, Sophie had wanted to talk to him for a long while after school was out. And then they'd spent some time working on his lesson plans that he'd prepared for all of the previous day.

When Kurt arrived on the doorstep at 7 o'clock, the family (and Finn) were still all sitting around the dinner table. As Blaine went to answer the door, he realised that they had no intention of moving anytime soon. In fact, Hiram was just putting the kettle on.

When Kurt entered the house, he made to go the kitchen assuming they'd be studying in there. Blaine grabbed him by the arm. 'It's a bit of a madhouse in there,' he explained. 'So we'll have to study in my room, if that's ok.'

'Oh, right, of course,' Kurt replied. 'Finn's here, isn't he? I'm sorry that you had to witness his table manners. I've tried to teach him how to behave like a human being, but he just doesn't seem to be interested.'

Blaine laughed at this. 'Oh, come on, he's really not that bad. I'm pretty sure my roommate is worse.'

'Oh really?' Kurt asked. 'Has your roommate ever managed to eat a whole roast meal with just his fingers?'

'Okay, point taken.' Blaine cleared all his work off his desk, before dragging over his second chair from the corner of the room. 'Well, anyway, let's get started.'

As they started in on the tutoring, Blaine couldn't help but notice that Kurt seemed distracted. He was managing to do most of the work, but still he didn't seem to be focussing particularly well. Eventually, after about twenty minutes, Blaine had to say something about it.

'Kurt, is everything alright?' he asked. 'You seem to be struggling.'

'It's nothing really,' Kurt responded immediately. 'It's just – I just wanted to talk to you about something.' Blaine turned in his chair to face Kurt, indicating that Kurt had his full attention. 'I'm just, worried, about Sebastian. Y'know, Rachel told me what he said to her.'

'Really?' Blaine was curious now. 'Well, what did he say?'

Kurt blushed slightly. 'I'd – I'd rather not repeat it,' he muttered. 'But well, I kinda couldn't help but overhear your conversation as well, and I'm, well, I'm kinda concerned about you.' Blaine was horrified; why would Kurt eavesdrop on him? Kurt, seeing his expression, hastened to continue. 'It's not my fault. You were a lot louder than you realise.'

'I'll keep in mind that I need to be quieter in future,' Blaine told him, a slight edge to his voice. It was, after all, a rather uncomfortable topic. 'But what was your point exactly?'

'Well, my dad gave me the talk last year, and it was super awkward, but I kinda feel like you need to hear it. Because I can tell how badly Sebastian treats you, and, well, you looked like a kicked puppy when you came back. So I just – you need to realise that you matter Blaine. You shouldn't just throw yourself away, because you matter.'

'Kurt, I really don't think this is relevant to me. Casual sex is totally acceptable. I get that it doesn't fit in with your values, but I'm an adult Kurt, I can make my own decisions.'

'No, Blaine, you need to listen to me. You need to realise your own self-worth. Sebastian is just using you, and you're worth so much more than that. Sure, ok, maybe having a casual thing is alright. But what you've got going on with Sebastian, it's really not healthy.'

'Kurt, I don't want to hear this,' Blaine was getting defensive. 'I think you should leave.'

'Hold on, I've nearly finished. Just hear me out, then you can totally tell me to leave. Because I can see how this is affecting you. Do you know what I admire the most about you? Your confidence. But after talking to Sebastian, your confidence was all gone. Every scrap of self-esteem had left. I watched you, and it took you hours to return to normal. And the only way you could do that was by distracting yourself with a movie. So sure, maybe you think this thing with Sebastian is just a bit of fun, but it's affecting you, Blaine. It's affecting your heart.'

'You need to leave, Kurt. This is all very cute, but you don't understand how the adult world works.' His voice may have been full of contempt, but underneath Blaine was feeling hollow. What Kurt had said was starting to get to him.

As he reached Blaine's door, Kurt turned back to him. 'Sebastian doesn't respect you, Blaine. And, well, I don't think you respect yourself either.'

Xxx

When Kurt left, Blaine just sat there in stunned silence for ages. He couldn't even think. He just sat there. After a long while though, he eventually emerged from his stupor. And suddenly, he realised just how tired he was; mainly from his stressful day, but also from the emotional conversation he'd had with Kurt.

He showered quickly before climbing into bed, snuggling down into the covers. But as he tried to get comfortable, he suddenly found he was unable to sleep. His mind was starting to work overtime, wanting to think over every little word Kurt had said, curious as to whether there could be any truth in it.

Kurt thought that Sebastian was just using him, that he didn't respect him. He thought that Sebastian treated him badly. Blaine thought about it, about the way that Sebastian spoke to him. Sure, Sebastian definitely wasn't sweet and loving, but that was just their dynamic wasn't it? It was a role they played, it made the experience better for both of them.

But was it just a role for Sebastian? Blaine thought back to when they'd first met, early in their second year. It had been at a bar, and Sebastian had been trying to put the moves on him. Blaine had quickly realised that he was a douche, and that he definitely wasn't boyfriend material. But that didn't stop him being good fuckbuddy material, did it?

Blaine thought again to what Kurt had said; that he had looked like a kicked puppy, that he lost all his self-esteem and confidence. He thought about how he felt after he'd been with Sebastian, how down it would make him feel. But that was just about the judgement he received from others, about the disappointment he caused Sebastian – because Sebastian was always disappointed with him. It couldn't be anything more than that, could it? Could it? Blaine was starting to worry. Maybe this thing with Sebastian was affecting him, maybe Kurt was right. It was taking longer and longer each time for Blaine to feel better about himself. To feel happy again. To feel confident. To forget how he kind of hated himself for doing this.

So maybe, maybe, Blaine should end things with Sebastian. But would he be able to? Would Sebastian let him? Blaine berated himself, he was being ridiculous. The fact that he was scared of Sebastian was just evidence that he needed to get away from him. So it was official, he would do this. It was probably for the better anyway. This arrangement with Sebastian was getting far too much like a relationship, despite them barely being friendly. No, it would be better if Blaine just went back to one night stands. They had worked well for him in the past. That way, Blaine didn't need to worry about taking crap from anyone. If they treated him like shit, he never had to see them again. He didn't even need to stick around to see things through.

Blaine smiled to himself, relieved. He'd got things sorted in his mind. Now he'd just have to apologise to Kurt. Because it turned out that he'd kinda overreacted a little bit.

Xxx

Wednesday evening, Blaine was watching tv with his family when the phone rang. He didn't think anything of it as Hiram rushed off to answer it. He was only slightly curious when LeRoy was summonsed moments later, and handed the second handset.

A short while later, it was Blaine's turn though. As his dads returned to the lounge, Hiram handed him the phone. 'A friend of yours,' he was told.

Tentatively, Blaine put the phone to his ear, hoping against hope that it wasn't Sebastian on the other end. One sex talk was enough for this week. He let out a cautious hi, before hearing, 'Hey dude, long time no talk.'

'Sam?' he asked. 'Do I want to know why you were talking to my dads?'

'Probably not,' Sam replied cheerfully. 'Anyway, I'm coming to Lima for the weekend. Tina's decided she wants me to meet her parents.'

Blaine was surprised by the news. 'But, like, a couple of weeks ago, you were hesitant for me to meet Tina?'

'Yea, and look how well that went. So Tina's folks should be no problem.'

'If you say so,' Blaine responded, unsure. 'But seriously dude, as excited as I am at the prospect of seeing you, will you please explain why you had to have a conversation with both my dads?'

Sam seemed coy. 'Well it was mostly to do with the fact that I'll be staying with you guys while I'm there. Tina didn't think her parents  
would be very impressed if we were sharing a bed.'

'Yea, that makes sense.' Blaine vaguely remembered meeting Tina's parents once. 'And what's the rest of the reason?'

Sam spoke in a rush, so fast that Blaine could barely catch what he said. 'Well, I may have convinced your parents that you should put on a concert on Friday night.'

'Sam, what the – '

'Look, I've got to go dude,' Sam cut him off. 'But I'll see you on Friday.' Before Blaine could respond, Sam had hung up.

Blaine returned to the lounge. 'So I hear we're having a concert Friday,' he said, in his best attempt at a casual tone.

'Oh really,' Rachel seemed excited. 'That's great! I have a whole lot of new songs that I want to try out.'

Blaine ignored her, instead focussing on his dads. 'So who are we going to invite? Because if you invite the neighbourhood in general, I swear I won't perform.'

'Well, obviously Sam will be coming,' LeRoy began. 'And we'll invite Tina. Rach, do you remember a Tina from glee club?' Rachel nodded in response. 'And then I was thinking we could invite Finn's whole family, because it would be good to get to know his parents.'

Blaine nodded his agreement. He could handle that. And besides, it would be a good opportunity to apologise to Kurt. He'd been worried when he was going to get the chance, but it seemed that the answer would be Friday.

Xxx

Sam arrived on the doorstep on Friday afternoon, soon after Blaine had arrived home from Kenton. He was officially meeting Tina's parents at dinner the following evening, and so he'd caught a cab from the airport while Tina's parents had picked her up. Blaine could just imagine Sam insisting that they enter the arrivals area separately, just so Tina's parents wouldn't be able to try to meet him early.

Blaine was the only one home at the time, so he was able to spend some time settling Sam in, setting ground rules and pointing out which breakables he had to avoid. Sure, Sam had visited a couple of times before, but Blaine's dads always struggled with his one-man onslaught. So it was best to minimise the stress they'd go through.

Sam was talking a mile a minute, catching Blaine up on everything he'd missed in the past two weeks which was, evidently, a lot. Blaine was feeling rather overwhelmed by it all, and was rather relieved when his dads arrived home. He kinda found it hard to feel sorry for them when Sam turned his attention to them; at least it was getting him a break for a few minutes.

Xxx

At 7.30 on the dot, the concert started. Blaine had always been amused about how structured Hiram and LeRoy were about these concerts. Blaine and Rachel were never allowed to hang out with their friends before the show started, it had to be treated as a real show, and they were to prepare in their makeshift dressing rooms.

The concerts always started and ended with a duet by LeRoy and Hiram. Blaine and Rachel would each do a set of five songs; the number agreed on long ago to stop arguments about who got to sing the most. Tonight, Rachel's songs were all Broadway showstoppers, and Blaine was pretty sure she was using the concert as an opportunity to prepare for her NYADA audition. Blaine had chosen a more relaxed approach; sat at their baby grand, he'd provided his own accompaniment. Both performers had been well received, polite applause meeting the end of each song.

Blaine was relieved when the concert was over. He no longer had to ham it up for the audience. Instead he could just hang out, making conversation over coffee and dessert.

He made his way over to where Sam was being introduced by Tina to Rachel, Kurt and Finn. Sam just couldn't get his head around the fact that Tina knew Blaine's sister.

'So, wait, you four were all in glee club together?' he asked for what Blaine was sure was the third time.

'Yes,' Rachel replied emphatically. 'Y'know, even back then I was the star of the club.'

Sam ignored this, turning instead to Blaine. 'So is that how you and Tina know each other? Were you in glee club as well?'

'No, I wasn't. We became friends because Tina ended up in a few of my classes.'

This obviously satisfied Sam's curiosity, because he shifted his attention onto Kurt. 'Well, I guess you're not just a disembodied voice anymore,' he told him. 'Y'know, Blaine never mentioned how good looking you are.'

Kurt flushed a bright red, and Blaine found himself needing to rescue him. 'Sam, you're meant to be straight,' he told him. 'Speaking of which, your girlfriend's standing right next to you. And she's totally silently judging you right now.' At that, Sam whipped around to look at Tina, who was watching him with curious amusement. As they began to converse, Blaine turned back to Kurt. 'Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?' When Kurt agreed, Blaine lead him over to a couch in the corner of the room.

'I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry,' Blaine began. 'You were just trying to help, and I overreacted. I had a think about what you said, and well, you might have a point. So thank you, I guess.'

Kurt smiled in response. 'Well, I suppose you're welcome. But I was actually going to apologise to you. It was out of line, what I said to you, it shouldn't have been me who said it.'

'Well I'm glad you did,' Blaine told him sincerely. 'You're pretty wise for your age. But anyway, with all this going on, we've missed a few opportunities for tutoring. So how about you come round tomorrow night, while Sam's at Tina's? That way we don't have to worry about him trying to distract us.' Kurt was quick to agree. 'Oh, and I nearly forgot,' Blaine continued. 'I kinda prepared a worksheet for you as well. Some translations to do. I'll just go grab it now, and you can bring it back tomorrow.'

Blaine hared upstairs from the basement, rushing to his room. It took him a while to find the worksheet because he'd dumped a pile of marking on his desk. Eventually he found it though, and he rushed back down. When he got there, he saw that Kurt had been caught by Sam. Blaine mentally cursed himself. A lot of people found Sam overwhelming to talk to, with his high energy and warped thought processes; Kurt probably wouldn't be pleased to be exposed to that.

But as he approached them, Blaine realised that Kurt was actually engrossed in the conversation, and that he seemed to be enjoying it. He wondered what they could be talking about, but as he reached them, they both turned to face him, the conversation coming to an abrupt stop.


	5. Chapter 5

On Saturday morning, Blaine was woken by someone jumping on his bed. He opened his eyes blearily, before throwing a pillow in the general direction of Sam. Was Sam normally this annoying?

'Blaine, Blaine, Blaine,' Sam called, bouncing up and down while trying to poke Blaine.

'What do you want, Sam?' he asked, patience quickly wearing thin.

'Mr Dad's making a cooked breakfast, you don't want to miss out,' Sam bounced a couple more times to emphasise his excitement.

'Which Dad?' Blaine knew exactly which one it would be, he just wanted to test whether Sam could tell the difference.

'Umm, LeRoy I think. Maybe?'

Blaine nodded his agreement, Hiram generally didn't cook. 'Ok, well, thanks for the wake up, Sam. I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes.'

'No, I don't think that's a good idea,' Sam told him, grabbing at his covers. 'You'll just go back to sleep. And I can't promise that I'll save you any food.'

Blaine knew when he was beat, so he just let Sam peel the covers off his bed, before bodily pulling him out. As Sam dragged him out into the hallway, Blaine thanked his lucky stars that he was in the habit of wearing pyjamas. Knowing Sam's feelings around clothing, he could imagine himself being dragged to the kitchen in just his underwear.

Xxx

The two of them somehow managed to spend most of the day playing board games, after Sam had discovered their games cupboard. Sam insisted on playing a couple of rounds of Ludo after which Blaine convinced him that they should play something more advanced. As a result, they then spent the next few hours playing the Game of Life and Monopoly. Blaine, however, put his foot down when Sam suggested Twister.

Blaine had to admit that he was actually enjoying himself. He hadn't had this much one-on-one time with Sam in a long time, and he'd kinda missed it. It reminded him of why they were such good friends in the first place.

Blaine was attempting to teach Sam how to play Mah-jong (it would help if he could actually remember the rules) when Sam announced that their games session was over. Hopping up from the coffee table where they'd situated themselves, he left Blaine to clear up the tiles.

'Hey, dude, what are you doing?' Blaine asked, severely unimpressed.

'Oh, um, Tina's coming around in a bit. Oh wait,' Sam looked alarmed, 'I forgot to check. Is it ok if Tina comes around?'

Blaine checked his watch. _3.30_. Sam would be going out soon anyway. 'Yea, sure, that's fine,' he told him. 'Just make sure that my dads don't walk in on anything.'

Tina arrived ten minutes later, and the three of them ended up in the lounge with Tina teaching the other two how to actually play mah-jong.

'This makes a whole lot more sense now,' Sam announced as he won the first round. 'I thought you reckoned you were a good teacher, Blaine.'

'Not cool, dude. Now hurry up and deal the next round.'

Tina watched as Sam began to set up. 'So, I've been thinking,' she spoke up. 'It was really great meeting up with everyone yesterday, but we didn't get to catch up properly. So I reckon we should all go get lunch tomorrow at Breadstix. Can you organise the others, Blaine?'

'Sure,' he replied before yelling, 'Rachel!' She hurried into the room. 'Do you and Finn want to come with us to lunch tomorrow?'

'Yes, ooh is this some kind of glee club reunion? Because I can get hold of the other New Directions members if you like.'

Tina thought for a moment. 'No it's ok. The only ones who are around are the cheerleaders and the jocks. And I was never really all that close with them. So we'll just stick with the people from last night.'

'Well I'll check with Kurt when he comes around later,' Blaine told her.

Rachel was just about to leave when Hiram appeared in the room. 'Your dad and I are about to head out,' he told Blaine. 'There's leftovers in the fridge for you and Kurt. Rachel, did you want a ride to Finn's?' She hurried out of the room behind her dad.

Xxx

When Kurt arrived at the house just before 6, Blaine was just finishing heating up the leftovers.

'Take a seat,' he told Kurt as he entered the kitchen, having let himself into the house. Blaine placed the meals down on the table, and they tucked into the food, neither talking for a while.

Eventually, just as Blaine was starting to think that the silence was getting awkward, Kurt spoke up. 'I never got the chance to tell you yesterday, but I thought you were amazing.'

Blaine felt himself blush, touched by the compliment. 'Thanks Kurt.'

'I really liked how you played the piano,' Kurt continued. 'I should've known better, but I kinda expected you to be like Rachel. Big and brassy, and performing the hell out of the song.'

Blaine laughed. That sounded about right. 'I think we've already established that I'm nothing like Rachel. And besides, that's not what I'm about.'

'Yea I know,' Kurt agreed. 'You're all about flying under the radar. Is that why you never joined the glee club?'

'Yea,' Blaine agreed, his discomfort coming across in the way his voice squeaked slightly. It hurt him to remember his time at high school. To remember how much he'd wanted to be part of the glee club. To remember how he'd never had the courage to join.

Kurt, sensing his distress, changed the subject. 'So Sam seems nice. How did you two meet?'

'It was in first year,' Blaine explained. 'His girlfriend at the time was in my class. She set me up with a friend of hers, and we went on a few double dates. But both relationships busted up, and the only thing to last was mine and Sam's friendship.'

'Oh, that's cool. I assumed you met him through Tina.'

'No,' Blaine explained, 'I only realised they were dating a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't seen her in years. Oh, that reminds me,' he added as a thought struck him. He explained Tina's plans for the next day.

They finished eating soon after, and cleared their plates to the side to work on Spanish. It was their last session, because Kurt's test was on Monday. Although they hadn't had a huge number of sessions, Blaine was pleased to see that Kurt had made progress. His tutoring was obviously making a difference.

As Kurt left at the end of the evening, he gave Blaine a hug. 'Thanks for all your help,' he murmured.

'You're more than welcome,' Blaine replied, not wanting to let go. He wasn't always very good at admitting it, but he was a very tactile person. 'I'll see you tomorrow.'

Xxx

As he drove to Breadstix, Rachel and Sam both nattering away, Blaine had to admit that he was excited. He was going to get to hang out with a whole bunch of his friends. And Finn. Who, he supposed, was technically his potential future brother-in-law. So he should probably make an effort.

When they arrived, Kurt and Finn were already seated in a booth, opposite each other. Rachel slid in next to Finn, and Sam automatically followed her, continuing the conversation they'd been having the whole way to the restaurant. Blaine slid in next to Kurt, who was quick to engage him in conversation, evidently trying to avoid the discussion he'd been having with Finn about football.

A few minutes later, Tina arrived, and after a few awkward moments of PDA, she and Sam proceeded to tell everyone about their dinner the previous evening. It had gone relatively well it seemed, once her parents had gotten over the fact that Sam wasn't Asian.

Once the waitress had come to take their orders, the conversation quickly swung around again with Tina wanting to know what had changed at McKinley. While Blaine found this topic interesting, he also noticed the bemused expression on Sam's face; he didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

'Is Mr Schue still picking terrible songs?' Tina wanted to know. Blaine didn't know Mr Schue very well; he'd done his utmost to avoid him after he'd once tried to convince Blaine to join the glee club. But he remembered how hopeless he'd been at teaching Spanish, and wondered if he was just as useless in other areas.

'So are you guys any further up the social heap yet?' Tina continued. 'Because I heard that you guys placed at Nationals last year. Has it changed things?'

The three seniors shook their heads ruefully. Blaine noticed how dejected Kurt looked; he remembered what he'd said about having a hard time at school. He felt terrible, and once again he couldn't help but want to fix everything.

'Please don't tell me that they still have a slushy machine,' Tina seemed unaware of the others' discomfort. Blaine shuddered at the memory of being slushied; as much as he tried to avoid it, it had happened to him once or twice. The others had similar reactions.

'What's so bad about a slushy machine?' Sam asked, finally finding something he could understand. 'Slushies are super good.'

'Not when you're wearing one,' Kurt told him. 'And they're burning your eyes, and the stickiness is seeping into your pants, and the cold is preventing you from functioning.' Blaine could hear the dejection in Kurt's voice, see the pain in his face as he relived what could possibly be a daily torture. Blaine hated that Kurt went through this, hated that he hurt so much.

Tentatively, Blaine reached out, placing his hand over Kurt's where it sat on the table. He squeezed it gently, and Kurt looked up at him, the smallest of smiles on his face.

Keeping his hand in place, Blaine turned to Tina, attempting to change the subject. 'Did you hear that Mrs Hagberg retired last year?'

'Really?' Tina asked, quickly latching onto the new topic. 'It's about time I suppose, but I was starting to think she would never leave.'

'She got made to retire,' Finn explained. 'She was teaching us that the Nazis won the war, but then Kurt told me that didn't actually happen.'

'Which is just as well really,' Kurt added, 'because there is no way that I could have rocked that moustache.'

'Can you even grow one?' Sam asked in a completely genuine tone.

Kurt slipped his hand out from underneath Blaine's, reaching for a breadstick and throwing it at Sam. It landed in his drink, sloshing water everywhere.

Xxx

On Monday at lunchtime, after a good five minutes of trying to convince himself it wasn't a good idea, Blaine sent Kurt a text.

To Kurt: Hey, how'd the test go? Did ya ace it?

The reply was almost immediate.

From Kurt: I think it went really well. All thanks to you.

Blaine sent him one final text.

To Kurt: I'm glad to hear it. Good luck for your results.

Xxx

On Tuesday evening, Blaine was in his room, marking some stories, when he heard a tap at the door.

'Come in,' he called. The door creaked open, and he looked up to see Kurt entering. 'Oh hey, Kurt. I wasn't expecting you.'

'I know,' Kurt told him, almost apologetically. 'I was hanging out with Rachel, but I just wanted to come by and say thanks again for tutoring me. I got you these.' He handed Blaine a box of chocolates.

'You didn't have to Kurt, but thank you. How did you know that dark chocolates were my favourite though?'

Kurt seemed almost surprised for a moment, before regaining himself. 'Well, is there any other kind?'

'I suppose you're right,' he replied, as Kurt walked back towards the door. 'Hey wait,' he added, crossing the room to where Kurt stood. 'It's been real nice getting to know you, Kurt. But make sure you keep in touch, ok? Because we'll have to hang out when you move to New York.'

'Um, yea, of course,' Kurt told him, a little awkwardly, a pleased little smile on his face. He turned around and walked out the door.

Xxx

Friday was Blaine's final day in Kenton. And it was a good day too. His class had a shared lunch for him, all the kids sad to see him go. Blaine was sad as well, he'd really enjoyed working with these kids, and he'd have loved to have been able to watch them grow up.

When school finished, and he'd had a final debrief with Sophie, there was a staff afternoon tea, another goodbye. As his colleagues all took turns approaching him, wishing him farewell, his phone rang. He excused himself from the conversation he was in, before answering.

'Hi Blaine,' an excited sounding Kurt greeted him back. 'So guess what. We got our marks back in Spanish today.'

'And let me guess,' Blaine laughed, 'you did quite well.'

'I got full marks,' Kurt told him.

'Oh wow, that's amazing Kurt. Well done. I'm so proud of you.'

'Thank you. I just thought I should let you know.'

'Thanks for that,' Blaine replied. 'Hey, I'll tell you what. This needs celebrating. So why don't I take you out for coffee tomorrow? I know a great little place.'

Kurt agreed, and they quickly made plans to meet up the following day before Blaine had to excuse himself to rejoin his colleagues.

Xxx

Kurt was already sitting waiting at a table when Blaine arrived at the Lima Bean. Blaine hurried to order his own coffee before joining him.

'Here's the man of the hour,' he called as he took a seat. Kurt just laughed in embarrassment. 'Seriously,' Blaine told him, reaching out to grab his forearm, 'you should be really proud of yourself.'

Kurt just smiled in reply, not saying anything. They sat there in silence for a while, each enjoying the warmth of their drink between their two hands.

'So you must be looking forward to going back to New York,' Kurt ventured at last.

'Yea, yea I am,' Blaine agreed. 'I mean, I love being with my family and I guess Lima will always hold a place in my heart, but it'll be nice to be somewhere a bit more open-minded. I always feel like I can't really be myself here.'

Kurt nodded in agreement. 'Yea, I can't wait to get to New York, to be able to feel proud of the fact that I like boys. To actually find a boy to like.'

'What, are you saying you've never crushed on a boy before?'

'Of course I've crushed on a boy. Heck, I even thought I was in love with Finn once. But maybe in New York it won't actually be unrequited.' Blaine could hear the longing in Kurt's voice.

'Yea that makes sense,' he agreed after a moment. 'I mean, I didn't have my first relationship until I moved to New York. It kinda seemed like slim pickings in Lima.'

'You're so lucky,' Kurt seemed wistful, 'getting the opportunity to date.'

'It's not all it's cracked up to be. Dating, I mean.'

Kurt thought for a moment, lip between his teeth. 'Oh yea, Sam mentioned something about a bad break up. I'm sorry, that must suck.'

Blaine tried to focus in on the conversation. 'Yea, I mean, it was a while ago now, but it's still hard. Kinda got my heart stomped on rather a lot.' This time it was Kurt who took his hand. 'Actually, it feels like it's happened a fair few times over the past couple of years.'

'Is that – Is that how – ' Blaine could see that Kurt was trying to find the right words. 'Is that why you got involved with Sebastian?'

'What do you mean?' Blaine did his best to keep his tone even, to not get annoyed.

'Well it's just, it just seems like you've kinda given up on love.' Kurt was biting his lip again, tentative, as if worried he'd said too much.

Blaine thought about it for a moment, was it true? He didn't think it had ever been a conscious decision. 'Um, yea, I guess I've given up. I don't really know. I mean, I really loved James, and I thought I loved Simon too but neither of them really cared about me. I don't know. Just, what if – '

'What if what, Blaine?' Blaine just shook his head, refusing to answer. 'Do you want to know what I think?' The voice was tender, soft. 'I think you're scared. You're scared that no one will ever love you. Scared that you're not worthy of love.'

Blaine thought over his words for a moment, let them roll around inside his head. Kurt was right, that was exactly how he felt. He hastily wiped a tear away from his eye, willing the others not to fall.

Kurt's grip tightened on his hand. Blaine hadn't even realised he was still holding it. 'But do you want to know what I know? You're wrong, Blaine. You're completely wrong. You are an absolutely amazing person. You have so much going for you. And you're deserving of every good thing in this life. And one day, you'll meet someone who loves you completely. And he'll never let you go. I promise.'

'How do you know?' The words sounded so tempting, so promising, but Blaine didn't know if he could let himself believe them.

'I just do,' Kurt told him. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but he didn't.

Blaine gave a watery laugh, moving his hand in Kurt's to give it a final squeeze, before letting go. 'How'd you get so smart, Kurt?'

Kurt laughed in return, a sassy smile on his face. 'Must be the amazing tutoring I received.'

Xxx

Blaine stood by the departure gate, preparing to go through security. He gave each of his family members one final hug. Rachel was last, and when he let her go, he held her at arm's length.

'You'll have to come visit me in New York,' he told her. 'Do the whole college tour and everything.'

'Yea, I'd like that,' she replied. 'But, um, do you think maybe Kurt could come too?'

Blaine thought for a moment. 'Maybe. But don't say anything to him yet, ok?'

And with that, he walked away, joining the end of the line to pass through security. He turned around once, blowing a kiss to his family, laughing as they fought over who got to catch it.

**Am I allowed to get feels from my own story?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just to warn you there's a bit of non-con in this chapter.**

**Also I'd like to apologise for the fact that I have no idea how Skype works.**

**This is by far the longest thing I've ever written, and it's still got a little way to go. I'm guessing about another three chapters.**

**I just want to thank everyone who has favourited, followed or reviewed this story. It means a lot to know that you're enjoying it, and your feedback is super useful.**

Somehow, Blaine managed to last until Tuesday evening before Sam mentioned his own trip to Lima. They were sitting at the table eating dinner when he brought it up.

'So, Kurt seems real nice,' he began, twirling pasta around his fork.

'Yea,' Blaine agreed non-committaly. 'He's pretty cool.'

'And you're really not getting on that?' Sam seemed incredulous.

Blaine heaved a sigh. 'He's my friend, Sam. That's all.'

'Oh yea? And when's that stopped you before?'

'Sam!' Blaine couldn't believe what Sam was suggesting. 'Kurt's not that kind of person.'

'But if he was, you would so do him, wouldn't you?'

Blaine was stunned into silence for a moment. 'I never said that! We're just friends. Two gay guys can just be friends. In the same way that you can be friends with a straight girl.'

'Oh yea, I know that,' Sam told him dismissively. 'I just don't get why you and Kurt are just friends. You two would have totally adorable babies.'

'Oh, Sam,' Blaine was shaking his head, 'please tell me you're joking.'

'What? What do you mean?' Blaine, continuing to shake his head, just got up from the table, dumping his plate in the sink.

Xxx

Blaine had to admit that he couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he'd had with Kurt. He knew that what he'd said about him giving up was absolutely true. Since James, he hadn't even considered dating. It had never worked for him in the past, so why would he take the risk now? He didn't think he could handle going through heartbreak again. He didn't really know that Sam would be able to put him back together again too many more times.

And it was more than just being fearful about having his heart broken. It was like Kurt had said, he was scared that no one would love him. Actually, it was more than that. He was pretty convinced that no one would ever be able to love him. It had been proven too many times that he wasn't worthy of being loved. As soon as the novelty of dating him wore off, he got tossed to the sidewalk. It had happened with all his relationships, and each time he'd been a little more broken. But it had been worst with James; that had left his heart smashed to pieces. Because he'd been starting to convince himself that James was the one for him.

Blaine found himself thinking back on James. When they'd been dating, he'd thought James was perfect. He'd been kind and sweet and attentive. But he was also unpredictable and assertive in a way that appealed to Blaine. If Blaine was honest with himself, it was because of these traits that he'd kinda put James up on a pedestal. He'd made himself the more inferior partner, and James knew that. He'd thrived on that, Blaine could see now. It played into his egocentric nature. Which, after their encounter in the library, was the only part of James that he could really see anymore.

So maybe that break up didn't reflect on him. Maybe it reflected more on James. Because James was more concerned with himself; he hadn't really ever been concerned about Blaine, or his wellbeing. The fact that James hadn't loved him wasn't because Blaine was unlovable, it was because James wasn't really capable of loving. Because he was too busy obsessing about himself.

So did that mean that Kurt really was right about everything? Was Blaine actually deserving of love? Because Blaine really wanted to believe that it was true. He could almost feel the hope starting to spark in his heart. Maybe one day, someone really would love him. Maybe he would find someone one day. But maybe not.

Xxx

Blaine was surfing the internet on Saturday night when Rachel's username popped up on Skype. He quickly clicked accept before jumping back in shock at the extreme close-up of Rachel's face.

'Oh Blaine, good, you are there. I really need your help.' There was a panicked look on Rachel's face.

'Yea, yea I'm here Rach. Now calm down. What is it you need?' Blaine caught Sam smirking at him from the other side of the room.

'I just got the date for my NYADA audition. And it's – it's in just under two months.' She started fiddling with her hair.

'So? You've got plenty of time Rach. You don't need to panic yet.' He could see this wasn't doing anything to pacify her.

'No I don't have time Blaine. I have to start planning this now. I tried out those songs at the concert, and none of them were good enough. I didn't get a single standing ovation. So now I'm back to square one. None of those songs that you and Kurt picked out were any good.' She was starting to work herself up. 'So now I have to go through all these books again.' She waved a half dozen precariously balanced books in front of her camera.

'You'll find something Rachel. You're going to be great at this.' Blaine said, the words not really holding meaning.

'What if – what if there's a perfect song out there, and I don't own the music for it? Maybe I need to go to Between the Sheets?'

'Rachel!' She didn't seem to hear him. 'Rachel. Breathe. You need to calm down. Do some breathing exercises.' She started breathing deeply, slowly starting to calm down. 'Ok, now you need to explain to me why you called. There isn't really much I can do from New York.'

'Well, um, I was trying to get Dads to help me, but then they suddenly said they had to go out, and they wouldn't let me come.' Blaine laughed, clearly his dads were trying to avoid her drama. 'Finn wouldn't be any use. And Kurt just flat out refused to talk to me.'

'So basically, I'm your last resort?' he asked rhetorically. 'Okay, I'll tell you what to do. Since Don't Rain on My Parade is your go-to song, that's gonna be your back-up. But in the meantime, you're gonna keep looking in case you find something else. Alright?'

'Yea, I guess. Thanks Blaine. You're the best.' Blaine was amused at how cheerful she seemed now.

'You're welcome Rach. Just make sure you don't overdo the practising. You wouldn't wanna lose your voice.'

'What?' Rachel was starting to panic again. 'Do you think that would happen? Blaine?'

Whoops, Blaine really hadn't meant for that reaction. But he couldn't really be bothered to fix it either. 'Look Rach, I'm sorry, but I've got to go.'

'Blaine – ' He logged off before she could continue.

Xxx

On Sunday evening, there was a knock at the door. Sam was studying in his room, so Blaine hurried to answer it. Sebastian barged into the room, before turning to him.

'Where have you been? I've been texting you, and messaging you, and calling you, but you haven't replied.' He stepped towards Blaine, who automatically stepped back.

'I told you, Sebastian. I'm done with this arrangement. There's no reason for us to be communicating anymore.'

Sebastian stepped forward again, now towering over him. 'I don't think you understand how this works, Blaine. You don't get to make these decisions. It's not up to you. And I still want you, so you better start delivering.'

Blaine took another step back and felt his legs connect with the side of the couch. He felt Sebastian grab him by the arms, pushing him back over the edge of the couch until he felt his back connect with the seat cushion. He tried to cry out, but he couldn't, Sebastian's mouth already on his. The kiss was rough and hungry, probing, tongue forcing its way into Blaine's mouth. Sebastian's hands moved freely over his body, grabbing and gripping, his hold painful. Blaine tried to free himself, wriggled and struggled, tried to push Sebastian away from him. Finally he managed to free his mouth from Sebastian's.

'Get off me Sebastian,' he cried. 'Please just leave me alone. I don't want this.' Sebastian just ignored him though, reattaching his lips to Blaine's, who wasn't sure what else he could do.

Suddenly, he felt Sebastian being pulled away from him. He looked up to see Sam standing there, holding Sebastian by the throat, nose inches from his. 'What the hell do you think you're doing to my friend?' he asked. 'He told you no.' He threw Sebastian away from him, using just the hand at his throat. 'Don't you dare come near Blaine again,' he growled. 'Or we'll go to the police. I'm sure they'd be quite happy to charge you for sexual assault.'

Sebastian stood, back against the wall, rubbing his throat and looking genuinely scared. He cast one last glance at Blaine before fleeing the apartment.

Sam was by Blaine's side in an instant, gently helping him to sit up. 'Are you ok? He didn't hurt you?'

'I – I think I'm ok,' Blaine ventured hesitantly. 'I was just so scared, you know? I didn't know what he was going to do to me. I don't know what he'd have done if you hadn't been there.'

'I'm just glad you're ok,' Sam told him, hand rubbing reassuringly up and down his back.

'Mmm, me too.' Blaine mumbled. The emotions of the situation were catching up with him, and he realised how tired he was. He found himself resting his head against Sam's shoulder, tucking his legs up under him as he leaned fully against him. Sam just wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer as he continued to rub his back.

Xxx

After a few days, the horror of his encounter with Sebastian was starting to fade away. Blaine was almost relieved about the situation, almost. At least now he knew that Sebastian wouldn't bother him anymore; he knew Sebastian was too scared of Sam, and any potential legal action. Before this had happened, Blaine had been secretly worried. When Sebastian had continued contacting him, he'd begun to worry that he'd never get rid of him. That he wouldn't actually manage to end their arrangement. And that had made him worry that he'd disappoint Kurt.

He didn't really know why he was that concerned about what Kurt thought. Maybe it was the fact that Kurt was the first person to actually call him out on what he was doing. Maybe it was because Kurt could actually see something more in him, something that all the other guys hadn't ever seen. Whatever it was, he hoped Kurt would be proud that he'd ended it. Even if he had needed Sam to help him.

Blaine looked up as Sam entered the kitchen, where he was supposed to be focussing on cooking dinner.

'Penny for your thoughts?' Sam asked.

'I was just thinking about Kurt,' he replied, without thinking about it. 'Wait? How'd you know I was lost in thought?'

'The rice is boiling over.' Sam replied, sending Blaine rushing to save it. 'So thinking about Kurt, aye? Daydreaming about how positively gorgeous he is?'

'No, no I wasn't. But seriously, what's up with you obsessing about his appearance?'

Sam watched him carefully for a moment, before replying. 'Well, clearly you're incapable of noticing how amazing he looks. So someone has to point it out to you.'

'Sam, why are you trying to play matchmaker? You usually try to keep out of my lovelife.'

'That's because it's generally so tragic,' Sam replied. 'But, even if you can't see it, I can see how perfect you and Kurt are for each other.'

'You barely know the guy, Sam.'

'Yea, and already I can tell he's a gazillion times better than any of the jerks you've dated.' Sam looked rather satisfied with himself.

'And that's why he's a good friend,' Blaine told him. 'Do I need to remind you, again, that he's only seventeen?'

'Actually, he's eighteen now. I stalked him on Facebook.'

Blaine rolled his eyes; trust Sam to do his research about something like this. 'Well, anyway, I'm 21, so the age gap would be super inappropriate. If I even had feelings for him. If I even had any intention of ever dating ever again.' He said it with a tone of finality, so that Sam would know that the conversation was over.

'Yea, whatever you say, dude.' Sam replied, walking out of the room with a bag of potato chips in hand. Blaine started wondering if he'd ever won an argument against Sam.

Xxx

Blaine hadn't forgotten his promise to Rachel that she could come visit in New York. He'd even managed to get Sam to agree to it. He had suspicions that he had a bit of a soft spot for her. Probably because he saw her more often than his own sister.

Blaine decided that he was better off organising things with their dads first, before getting Rachel too excited about it. Otherwise she'd have already planned every Broadway show that they could go see, and their dads would suddenly decide that it wasn't a good idea for her to go. So on Friday evening, he called them up.

'Blaine! Good to hear from you son,' Hiram sounded enthusiastic.

'Hey, is Sam there too?' LeRoy asked, sounding almost hopeful. Had Sam actually succeeded in winning them over?

'No he's not, sorry Dad. He's on a date with Tina.'

'She seemed a nice girl, Blaine. I'm happy he found her.' This conversation was getting strange, Blaine thought. Had his dads forgotten who their real son was?

'Yea, yea she is nice,' he replied, wanting to move the conversation on. 'But that's not why I called. I, um, kinda told Rachel she could maybe come visit, you know, for a college tour thing.'

'I see,' Hiram murmured, before the line fell silent. Blaine wondered what was happening on the other end. 'What exactly were you planning on doing?'

'Um, taking her to look around NYADA, maybe a couple of other schools. Sight seeing. And just generally getting her familiar with the city. Is that ok?'

'So long as you're not planning on taking her out to clubs, or whatever crazy things you get up to. So, um, is it just gonna be the two of you?' Blaine wondered what was up with the fifty questions. His parents hadn't ever been that protective of him, had they?

'Well, Sam will be around, and I guess Tina might be as well. And I was planning to invite Kurt to come too.'

'That's considerate of you, Blaine,' Hiram told him. 'But I have to say, in that instance, I'm glad that Sam will be around.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Did they not trust his abilities to be a good host? Did they actually think that Sam would do a better job?

'Well,' Hiram dragged out the word. 'Rachel mentioned something about a Sebastian. Ring any bells?' From the tone, Blaine could tell that they knew the whole story. 'At least with Sam around, you won't be able take advantage of Kurt. Y'know, I've finally realised that kid's actually got his head screwed on straight.'

'Okay,' Blaine was getting annoyed with this conversation. 'A few things there. Firstly, Sam is way too keen for me to date Kurt, so that kinda negates that point.'

'Oh, I didn't say there was anything wrong with you two dating. I was more concerned that you'd hit it and quit it.'

Blaine was mortified. 'Kurt and I are just friends Dad. But anyway, secondly, things are over with me and Sebastian.'

This time it was LeRoy who spoke up. 'Well, that's a relief. I was worried we were going to have to give you a talk. I really wasn't looking forward to it. They're always so awkward.'

'Yea, I have to agree,' Blaine shuddered as he remembered the talk his dads had given him. 'But thirdly, why are you so concerned about Rachel and Kurt's welfare, but I'm expected to be able to look after myself?'

'We are concerned about your welfare too, Blaine. Of course we are. But we're trying to accept that you're growing up.'

'What your dad is trying to say,' LeRoy added, 'is that as much as he would like to stick his nose in your business, we've agreed that we won't. Seeing you back home, working, it made us realise that you're an adult now. You're about to enter the real world, get a real job. We can't let ourselves keep babying you. As much as we want to.'

Blaine was silent for a moment, letting their words sink in. 'Of course,' Hiram added, 'that doesn't mean that you can't ever come to us for help. If you ever need us, we do want to be able to help you with your problems.'

'Thanks Dads,' Blaine told them, a happy little smile on his face. 'Um, but anyway, I was ringing about Rachel. Are you ok with her coming? I was thinking two weeks' time.'

'Yea that sounds fine Blaine, but on one condition.' Blaine held his breath, worried. 'You have to talk some sense into her about this audition thing. She's freaking out about it, and your dad and I can't handle all her craziness.'

Blaine laughed. 'I'll see what I can do,' he promised.

Xxx

Now that Rachel was coming to visit, Blaine just had to organise for Kurt to go as well. The following night when he was on Skype, he noticed that Kurt was online. He'd considered just calling him, but he'd decided that he wanted to see Kurt's face, to see his expression when Blaine asked him to visit.

'Hi Kurt,' he greeted the moment Kurt appeared.

'Hey Blaine,' he greeted back enthusiastically, giving an awkward little wave. 'How's New York?'

'Yea it's pretty good. Actually, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.' Blaine decided to cut to the chase; there was no point in dragging the suspense out.

'What do you mean?' Kurt asked, confused. 'Wait, has something happened? Something with your ex or something?'

'No, no it's nothing like that,' Blaine told him, trying to calm him down. 'It's just that Rachel is coming to visit me in New York in a couple of weeks. Prepare for next year and that. And I was just wondering, did you wanna come too?'

Kurt looked kinda comical, Blaine thought, his face frozen in some kind of shocked grin. 'Wait, wait. Are you asking me if I wanna come stay in New York?'

'Yea, just for a weekend,' Blaine explained. 'I thought you might want to have a look round, get to know the place, before you actually move.'

'I would love to Blaine.' Kurt looked ecstatic. 'I really, really want to come. I'll have to check with my dad first, but that would be so amazing. Ohmigosh, I'm so excited.'

As Blaine lay in bed that night, trying to sleep, he couldn't get that image of Kurt's face out of his mind. The sheer excitement shown at the prospect of visiting Blaine. Well, of visiting New York really, but Blaine was in New York, so there wasn't too much difference. Surely?


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt and Rachel arrived in New York early on the Friday morning. Blaine met them at the airport, some paranoid part of his brain worried that they'd get lost or abducted.

'Blaine!' Rachel called as she entered the arrivals lounge, before Blaine had even spotted her. She threw herself into his arms, giving him a warm, strong hug. When she let go, Kurt immediately took her place, not even showing the slightest hesitance before hugging Blaine.

As Kurt stepped back, Blaine found himself casting a critical eye over him, as if trying to determine whether Sam was right in his assessments of Kurt. He looked quickly over his face, where each feature was striking, and continued on, taking in Kurt's fashion choices. He found himself getting distracted, however, when he noticed Kurt's pants; the tight red jeans hugging every inch of Kurt's legs.

After several moments, he became aware of the sound of a throat clearing, and Rachel began to speak. 'So, Blaine, how are we supposed to get out of this airport?'

'Oh, oh right,' Blaine forced his eyes away. 'Um, right, let's go. Follow me.'

They exited the building and caught themselves a cab. After they'd dropped their luggage off at Blaine's apartment, they continued on with their day, heading for campus tours (the reason they were missing class). Blaine had organised each of them two tours, one at their school of choice (NYADA and Parsons) as well as a second backup option.

They both instantly fell in love with the school they'd chosen, determined to do everything in their power to be offered a place. As Rachel strode down a corridor in NYADA, gazing about at all the sights, Blaine was sure he heard her murmuring to herself, 'This is where I belong. This is where my real home is.'

He caught up to her, falling in step beside her. 'Ah, Rach, you've still got to get accepted yet.'

'Yea I know,' she told him simply. 'But I know now that it's going to happen. I can just feel it. Besides, did you hear that girl singing back there? I am way, way more talented that her. They'll have to let me in.'

Blaine didn't say anything more, instead just feeling pleased that Rachel might have finally calmed down about her audition. He wondered if his dads would notch it up as a win.

During their tour at Parsons, Blaine and Rachel just trailed awkwardly behind, feeling rather like they didn't belong as Kurt talked animatedly with the tour guide. Blaine had no idea what they were talking about, what with the amount of jargon that was being thrown around, but he was pleased to see how excited Kurt was about the whole thing. Blaine loved the way his eyes lit up, and if he could, he'd have done everything in his power to make sure that they always looked that way.

By the time the tours were over, it was mid-afternoon, and Rachel insisted that Blaine took them around his school so that she could see what his day-to-day life looked like. Kurt was quick to second the idea, and Blaine reluctantly agreed, but not without promising them that it would be decidedly uninteresting.

But as he led them through the main foyer, he realised that he'd been wrong. Because coming from the opposite direction was James, and he was headed directly towards them.

'Hi, Blaine,' he greeted, coming to a stop in front of them.

'Hey James,' he replied, immediately noticing how calm he felt. 'How are you?'

James seemed almost surprised by the civility of their conversation. But considering the last time they'd talked, it was a little surprising. 'Um, yea, alright thanks. Look, I was just wondering if you had any notes for yesterday's lecture. Because you always seemed to have the best notes.'

Blaine remembered how, back when they were dating, James had always borrowed his notes. He expected he'd be annoyed about remembering just another way he'd been used. But he didn't. It was strange. 'Yea, yea I do,' he answered eventually. 'But I don't have them with me now. I'll have to email them tonight. If that's alright?'

'Yea that'd be great,' James told him. 'Thanks Blaine. And hey, it's good to see you.' Blaine mumbled a quick 'you too' as James walked off.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Kurt spoke up. 'Wait, so was that the evil nasty ex?' Blaine nodded in response. 'So what are you gonna do? Send the completely wrong notes?'

'No, I'll just send him the real ones. Revenge seems like far too much effort.'

'Blaine, you're not still pining after him are you?' Kurt seemed concerned. 'Cos you're kinda acting like a pushover.'

Blaine watched Kurt closely for a few moments, taking the time to think over what it was that he was doing. 'No, that's not it. I just think that, I dunno, maybe I've just let go of the past. Maybe I've finally moved on.'

Rachel was watching the two of them like she had no idea what was going on. 'Wait, Blaine, did you date that guy? You never told me you'd had a boyfriend.'

'I've had a few Rachel. It's just never come up, because I was always too busy trying to solve your relationship problems.' Rachel looked surprised for a moment, as if she'd never realised how much she'd blathered on about Finn (or Puck or Jesse) before.

Xxx

Blaine looked up from his dinner to watch the involved conversation Kurt and Rachel were having about what they should do the following day. Rachel was trying to convince Kurt that they had every chance of sneaking into the Gershwin theatre. Kurt, ever the sensible one, was trying to counteract with suggestions of just sticking to the usual tourist attractions.

'What do you suggest we should do, Blaine?' Rachel asked eventually, when it was starting to become clear that she would lose the argument.

'Well, I have to agree with Kurt,' he told her, smiling at the way Kurt turned to smirk at her. 'I was thinking Central Park, Times Square, Empire State Building. All the must-sees.'

'Fine,' Rachel huffed, 'but can we at least walk past some of the theatres?'

'I'll see what I can do,' Blaine told her. 'Actually, I'm kinda surprised that Dads didn't organise some tickets for us. I'd have thought that you would've been on at them about it.'

Rachel looked slightly guilty. 'Well, I tried. But I don't think they could handle the idea of missing out.'

They all returned their attention to their meals, silence falling over them as they ate. After a few minutes, Kurt spoke up. 'I can't get over how cool this place is, Blaine. I can't understand why you don't practically live here.'

Blaine laughed, taking a moment to take in the surroundings once again. When they'd been trying to decide what to do for dinner, Blaine had told the other two about this café. It was just down the road from his apartment building, and Blaine couldn't get over how cutely cliché it was. Especially on nights like tonight, when there was live music.

'Yea it is nice,' Blaine agreed. 'But a place like this, you need decent company, and well, I try not to let Sam out in public too often.' Kurt giggled at this, hand held up to cover his mouth. It was kind of adorable.

When they'd finished eating, they all ordered coffee, deciding that they'd spend some time enjoying the music and the atmosphere. Conversation flowed easily between them, simple and unhurried, with the occasional pause to listen to the music.

'So when do you start looking for a job, Blaine?' Kurt asked. 'Do you have to wait until summer, or what?'

'Um, actually, there's a chance I might have found something already. Last year, I did a placement at a school a couple of neighbourhoods away. They've got a teacher who's about to retire, and so they got in contact with me. They knew I was about to graduate, so they asked if I wanted to apply.'

Kurt seemed excited for him, reaching out to squeeze his hand. 'That's so exciting, Blaine. You haven't even graduated, and you're already being headhunted.'

Blaine couldn't help but smile at Kurt's reaction. 'Yea, well, I don't know how many other students they got in contact with. And it's not like I've got the job yet, I've still got to go through the process.'

'It seems so weird,' Rachel spoke up after a moment, having zoned out previously. 'It's weird how you're getting ready to, like, join the workforce, and me and Kurt are still stuck in high school.'

Blaine laughed. 'You know, if I didn't know any better Rachel, I'd think that you were calling me old.'

Xxx

The next morning, when Blaine woke up, he was momentarily disorientated. Where was he? Because he definitely wasn't in his own bed. Eventually he worked it out though. He'd insisted that Kurt and Rachel shared his bed. And since Sam was staying with Tina for the night, he'd taken Sam's bed, preferring that to curling up on the couch.

'Morning, Blaine,' Rachel called from the door, bright and cheery. 'Time to get up, we've got a big day. Kurt's just making breakfast.'

Blaine didn't want to get up. He didn't like getting up in the mornings. But the longer he took to get up, the less time he'd have to make himself look presentable. With that thought in mind, he quickly rolled out of bed, trying his best to not step on the mess on Sam's floor.

Xxx

The day went well, the morning spent wandering around Central Park, exploring it to an extent that Blaine hadn't bothered with for years. After a quick lunch, they headed to Times Square, where they found themselves a spot to people watch, Kurt giving a running commentary on everyone's fashion choices.

After that, they headed towards the Empire State Building, the sidewalks getting more crowded the closer that they got. Blaine glanced towards Kurt, noticing how nervous he seemed. 'You ok?' he asked quietly.

'Just worried that I'm going to lose you two,' Kurt explained, trying to walk as close as possible to Blaine.

Blaine held his hand out towards him. 'Take my hand then,' he told him, before turning towards Rachel, 'and you, take my other one.' They both slipped their hands into Blaine's, and he gave them both a quick squeeze as they continued to walk. It felt nice, Blaine found, the warmth of their hands against his. But at the same time, it kinda made him feel like a mother duck.

Xxx

That evening Sam was back at the apartment when they arrived, eager to tell them about a play that a friend of Tina's was in. The two of them had been to see it the night before, and the others should really go see it. In fact, if they wanted, Sam could take them.

It was quickly agreed upon, and they headed out, finding somewhere to eat before heading to the show. The play was dark, spooky even, and Blaine found himself on edge. He jumped when Kurt's hand accidentally brushed against his on the armrest, heart beating a million miles an hour. But he calmed instantly when Kurt laced their fingers together, his thumb running back and forth reassuringly. It was kinda weird, he couldn't help but think, having Kurt look after him, be protective of him. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

He was kinda surprised, when the show ended and the lights came up, to see that their hands were still intertwined. But as Kurt turned away from the stage to start a conversation with Rachel, he just let Blaine's hand go. As if it was the most natural thing in the world. As if he was always holding hands with boys.

Xxx

When everyone was getting ready for bed that night, Blaine was making up the couch, preparing himself to sleep there. As Sam passed from the bathroom to his bedroom, he stopped for a moment, watching Blaine do battle with a sheet.

'Are you really going to sleep there?' he asked. 'I tried that once, when my parents were visiting. It's super uncomfortable.'

Blaine had had suspicions that would be the case. 'Yea, well, I don't really have any other choice.'

'Yea. I would just let you share my bed, but that kinda crosses the bros line. And besides, Tina reckons I kick in my sleep.'

'I think I'd prefer the couch,' Blaine told him with a smile.

Two hours later, Blaine was convinced that he'd prefer anything over the couch. It was the most uncomfortable thing ever. No matter which way he twisted or turned, he couldn't find a comfy position. At this rate, he wouldn't sleep a wink tonight.

At that moment, Blaine heard footsteps coming from somewhere in the apartment. He sat up quickly, suddenly hyperaware of every little noise. Rachel appeared in his bedroom door, before crossing the room towards the kitchen.

'Rachel,' he whisper-shouted, 'what are you doing?'

'I'm just getting a drink,' she replied. 'What are you doing?'

'I couldn't sleep,' he admitted.

Rachel ducked into the kitchen, returning with a glass in her hand. 'The couch as uncomfortable as Sam said it was?' she asked. He nodded in reply. 'Well, come share with us, then.'

'What, no. Rachel, I couldn't.'

'Blaine, if it was just me, would you share a bed?' He thought for a moment before nodding. 'Well, come on then. If I sleep in the middle, it's not like it's going to be any different.'

Blaine couldn't help but think that it didn't work quite like that. And besides, it was gonna be super squashed in there. But he was really tired, so he just followed obediently after her, eager for the comfort of his own bed.

Xxx

It took Blaine a moment to get his bearings when he first woke up. He couldn't, for the life of him, work out why he was staring into the most gorgeous blue-green eyes. Eyes that were staring sleepily back at him. Blaine knew these eyes, maybe not in this much detail, but he knew these eyes.

Slowly, he refocused his gaze, finally working out who it was that was watching him from the other side of his bed. 'Morning Kurt,' he greeted quietly, not wanting to disturb the stillness of it all.

'Mm, morning,' Kurt hummed back, still sleepy but slowly waking up.

They just lay there like that for a while, just watching each other, until Kurt spoke up. 'Has anyone ever told you that you have really adorable bedhead?'

Blaine laughed softly, still captivated. 'Yea, Sam tells me periodically. But only when he's trying to wind me up.'

A look of alarm flashed across Kurt's face. 'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was a sore point.'

'Don't be sorry, Kurt. It's different when you say it. I kinda like it.' He ducked his head at this last admission, not wanting to meet Kurt's gaze. Something about this half-awake state made him feel so much more vulnerable.

Kurt reached a hand out from under the covers, inching it slowly towards Blaine's face, before tilting his chin back up. His eyes searched Blaine's, clearly looking for something, before he started to move towards Blaine. Blaine, caught up in everything that was Kurt, mirrored his actions. As they met in the middle of the bed, Blaine brought his hand up to Kurt's face, thumb caressing his cheek. They hesitated there for a moment, searching each other's faces, before they leant in at the same time, lips meeting in a sweet, chaste kiss. Blaine didn't think he'd ever had a kiss that was so simple before, or one that was so perfect. He couldn't get over how soft Kurt's lips were against his. After what felt like a lifetime, they pulled away.

Kurt just watched him again for a moment, before speaking up. 'I really, really like you, Blaine.'

Blaine thought for a moment, taking in the meaning of Kurt's words. As the realisation hit him, alarm and panic started to rise, hard and fast. He started to freak out, not knowing what to say. 'I'm really sorry, Kurt,' he said eventually. 'I can't do this.' He turned away to get out of the bed, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

'Blaine,' Kurt's voice was soft, kind. 'I know you're scared. But I would never hurt you.'

Blaine turned back towards him, saw the gentleness in his eyes. 'I know,' he told him. 'But I just – I just can't Kurt. Not now. I'm not ready.'

'Then I'll wait.' Kurt replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He leaned up on his elbow, hand on Blaine's cheek as he kissed his nose. Blaine smiled in reply, a soft, sad smile, before turning away and getting out of the bed.

Xxx

The rest of the day was a little awkward. When Blaine entered the lounge, he found Rachel sipping her tea, humming incongruously, trying to feign innocence. He found himself wondering how she'd managed to slip out of the bed, from right in the middle of the bed, without disturbing either him or Kurt. She started chattering away, too brightly, even for her.

They headed out soon after, leaving before Sam was out of bed, catching a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. Throughout the trip, Blaine didn't know how to act around Kurt, didn't know what he should even feel. So he did his best to keep Rachel between them, acting as a buffer. Rachel, of course, didn't mind, as it meant she got more attention. Kurt seemed a bit put out by Blaine's behaviour, but Blaine got the distinct impression that Kurt didn't really know what to do either. So he'd let it slide.

When they got back to the apartment, Rachel and Kurt rushed to pack all their belongings, preparing to leave. Blaine sat waiting in the lounge.

'C'mon,' he called, 'we need to be leaving in the next ten minutes.'

Rachel appeared at the door. 'Actually, I was thinking Blaine. If we're ever going to survive in New York, we're going to have to be able to get our own way around. So we may as well get started now.'

'Are you saying you expect me to let you get to the airport, and on your flight, on your own?'

'Yes, Blaine,' Rachel seemed insistent. 'We'll be fine.'

Blaine really wasn't sure it was a good idea. But Rachel was stubborn, and he didn't think he'd be able to argue his way out of this. 'Fine,' he agreed eventually, 'but make sure you text me just before you board, so I know everything's alright.'

Rachel jumped up and down in excitement, rushing over to hug Blaine.

'Rachel, are you ready to go?' Kurt asked from the doorway. 'Because I think I'm all packed.'

'Well, I guess this is it then,' Rachel replied, turning back to Blaine and hugging him again. 'Thank you so much for everything, Blaine. You are the most amazing brother ever.'

'You're welcome, Rach,' he told her, trying not to choke on the words. He hated goodbyes, and this one seemed worse than most.

Kurt was hovering nearby, seemingly unsure what to do. Suddenly, he rushed forward, pulling Blaine into a quick, slightly awkward hug. 'Thank you for inviting me along, it meant a lot,' he told him, before pulling back to look at him. 'And just remember, Blaine, I'm not going anywhere, ok?'

Blaine smiled tightly in return, not wanting to think about all the meaning hidden under those words. He turned back to Rachel, 'Can I at least call you a cab?'

'No, Blaine. What kind of New Yorkers would we be if we couldn't even get our own cab?' Blaine laughed as he walked them to the door, the two of them having said goodbye to Sam. Having said their final farewells, Blaine watched as they walked down the hall, on their way back to Ohio.

**Yea so I don't know a hang of a lot about New York. I swear 90% of what I do know is from this fandom. So I hope this chapter wasn't too painful for you. And I hope you're enjoying the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**The song Kurt sings is called I Believe My Heart, and it's from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Chosen because I can so imagine Kurt singing this in that intensely emotive way of his. If you want to listen: youtube watch?v=NVswpmhSrW8 **

When Blaine shut the door behind Kurt and Rachel, he turned around to see Sam watching him, looking like he was about to say something. But Blaine bet him to it, telling him he was going for a nap.

In reality, the nap was just an excuse to bury his face in the pillow that Kurt had used, inhaling the sweet, masculine scent. As he lay there, overloading his senses, he found himself thinking for the first time since that early morning kiss.

There was no way that Blaine could deny that he found Kurt attractive. And he was definitely an amazing person. But was that grounds enough to date someone? Blaine was inclined to think that it wasn't. Not when dating meant taking such a huge risk with his heart.

Did that mean that Blaine didn't trust Kurt enough to entrust him with his heart? Blaine couldn't help but think that there was probably some significance in that. But he was tired, so he couldn't really be bothered trying to think it through. He had suspicions it would get really confusing, really quickly. It would be much easier if he just buried further into the bed, wrapped the covers tighter around him, and closed his eyes for a few minutes.

When Blaine woke up, it was late in the evening, and Sam had already gone to bed. He made himself a quick snack, before returning to his room, relieved that he could avoid Sam for that little bit longer.

Xxx

Blaine was lucky enough that he wasn't confronted by Sam for a few days. Although he didn't feel all that lucky, because he found himself spending way too much time reliving every moment with Kurt, or just remembering the kiss, trying to work out exactly how he felt.

However, on Wednesday afternoon that changed, the matter apparently so important that Sam had to interrupt his studying. He entered the room without knocking, plopping down on Blaine's bed.

'So I don't know how it happened,' he began, 'but I completely forgot to wind you up about Kurt. I mean, you spent a whole weekend with him, but you're still not together?'

Blaine stared down at the page before him, not wanting to face his friend. 'Please, Sam, can we not talk about this?'

'Ooh, did something happen?' Sam asked in a singsong voice. When Blaine didn't reply, just slumped his shoulders a little more, Sam was quickly by his side. 'Wait, dude, did som – what happened, Blaine?'

Blaine turned so that he was facing Sam, heaving a big sigh before speaking. 'We kissed. And it was kinda amazing. But I just – I just, I can't be in a relationship, Sam.' He searched his eyes wildly, desperately trying to find some kind of understanding there.

'And did you tell him that?' Sam asked, Blaine nodding in reply. 'Well, what did he say?'

'He said he'd wait for me. He'd wait for me. What the hell kind of eighteen year old says something that profound and mature?' Blaine was getting worked up.

'Yea, but it's not like his age really factors into this, Blaine. Well, unless – ' he paused, thinking for a moment. 'Is the age gap an issue for you?'

'Well, I dunno, not really, most of the time I forget that he's a kid. But then again, everyone goes through the phase of crushing on an older guy.' Blaine panicked, a thought suddenly striking him. 'What if he doesn't actually really like me? What if I'm the object of some weird kind of fantasy?'

Sam studied him for a moment, taking in the state Blaine was in. 'Y'know, I think it's kinda telling that you're so concerned that he doesn't like you. But I can promise that's really not the case.'

Blaine latched onto this last piece of information. 'What? How do you know that? When were you even talking to Kurt?'

'At your Dads' place. Down in the basement. You totally caught us out, remember?' Blaine nodded his head, a dim memory coming to mind. 'Anyway, because I'm the master of conversation, we got to talking about it. He said that when he first met you, it was definitely a silly crush like that. But as he got to know you, it became the real deal. So you really don't need to worry about his motives.'

'So you're sure he genuinely likes me?' Sam nodded in reply. 'Do you think the age gaps weird? Wait, no, better yet, what does Kurt think about the age gap?'

'He didn't really mention it. Just said something about feeling like you were equals. Y'know, like you weren't at completely different stages in your lives. Which really makes sense. Because when I was talking to him, it totally felt like I was talking to a peer, not some immature little teenager.'

'So pretty much, we've decided that since Kurt is so mature, it doesn't really matter that I'm three years older?' Blaine thought for a moment. 'So, really, the only thing holding this up is me not knowing if I'm ready for a relationship. Or if I'll ever be ready for a relationship with Kurt.' He propped his arms on his desk, head in his hands, and stared glumly at the wall.

'Don't stress so much, dude,' Sam told him, standing up and slapping him on the back. 'You'll work it out in due course. Seriously, you're gonna have a moment when it's suddenly obvious just how much you love Kurt Hummel.'

'Why are you so sure this is a done deal, Sam?'

'Trust me, I just know these things.' Which, Blaine was sure, would be a whole lot more believable if Sam hadn't just walked into the wall.

Xxx

On Sunday afternoon, Blaine was out for a walk, trying to escape an assignment. He was just trying to make his way across a busy road when his phone rang. He ducked over to the edge of the sidewalk, trying to find a quiet spot, before answering it.

'Um, hey Blaine.'

Blaine was surprised. 'Oh, Kurt, hi.'

'Hey, so, um,' Kurt sounded nervous. 'I just wanted to make sure that things were still ok between us. It's not weird, us still being friends, is it?'

'Um, yea, no, things are fine. Well, I want them to be, anyway. I'm just trying to make sense of the world though, so I can't really make any promises about my behaviour.'

He heard Kurt huff a laugh. 'Yea, that's fair enough. It's not every day that you randomly get kissed by a friend.'

'And it's even less often that you get the most amazing kiss you could ever imagine getting from a friend.' Whoops, Blaine hadn't really meant to say that.

'Seriously? You mean to say that I'm a better kisser than Sebastian?' There was a teasing tone to Kurt's voice now.

Blaine laughed in response. 'Not that I really ever considered Sebastian a friend, but, yea, you are a better kisser than him.'

'Hmm, and that was barely more than a peck. Just you wait – '

'Kurt!' Blaine interrupted him, 'you're not really helping the whole not awkward friend thing here.'

'Oh, right, sorry.' There was silence over the phone line, even as the noise continued around Blaine. 'So, anyway, Regionals is in a couple of weeks. And you should come along. I'm sure it would mean the world to Rachel.'

Blaine tried to visualise his diary, the day he'd already marked 'Regionals', and the days surrounding it. He really couldn't remember any of it. 'I'll see what I can do,' he promised eventually. 'But I'm not really sure how busy I'll be.'

'Um, yea, ok,' Kurt sounded excited. 'Well, I'd better go. I guess I might see you in a couple of weeks. Hopefully.'

Xxx

On Wednesday, right in the middle of class, Blaine got a phone call to say that he'd been shortlisted for the teaching job he'd applied for. He would have an interview the following week.

Xxx

On Friday night, Sam convinced Blaine that they should have a Call of Duty marathon. Blaine hadn't played in forever. In fact, he wasn't even sure that he'd realised that Sam still had an Xbox. Part of him thought he'd sold it when he was short of cash. But no, it was still there, shut away in the cabinet below the tv.

They'd been playing for a couple of hours, and Blaine was on a bit of a dying streak, unable to focus completely. When he died for a fifth time, he exited the game before throwing his controller beside him.

'Dude,' Sam turned to him, 'what the hell?'

Blaine ran his hands over his face, trying to find the right words. 'Do you think it's a bad sign if I feel like I don't trust Kurt?'

Sam watched him, a look of concern on his face. 'I think it depends on what you mean when you say that.'

'I kinda feel like I'm not willing to trust Kurt with my heart,' Blaine explained. 'I just can't stop thinking about it. I feel like that's what's holding me back.'

'I think you're not giving yourself enough credit,' Sam counteracted. 'You do already trust him a lot. Just in how honest you've been with him. Sure, you're not as open as you are with me, but you've known me a few years. You've only known him a few months. These things take time.'

'So you're saying it's ok?' Blaine asked.

'You've been through a lot,' Sam explained. 'Guys, in general, need to earn back your trust. Kurt's made up a lot of ground on that already. In time, you'll learn to trust him completely.'

Blaine thought over Sam's words, feeling the worry and tension beginning to ease. After a moment, he looked back towards Sam. 'You know, for a dumb blond, you give pretty good advice.'

Xxx

On Tuesday, Blaine went for his interview. He felt like he scrubbed up pretty well, in his well-tailored suit with his hair carefully gelled down. He was relieved to see that he knew one of the interviewers, the other one there to ensure there wasn't too much bias towards Blaine. He felt confident and comfortable as he answered their questions and discussed the lessons he'd learnt while teaching. All-in-all he felt like it went pretty well, considering he didn't have much experience with interviews.

But then again, only time would tell.

Xxx

Blaine was in his room, packing, on Thursday evening when Sam entered.

'So, you're gonna go see them at Regionals, then?' he asked.

'Yea, I just feel like I need to see Kurt. Like maybe if I just see him, that will help somehow.'

Sam nodded in response. 'So do they know that you're coming?'

'No, I wanted to surprise them. My flight gets in early afternoon tomorrow. They'll be in rehearsal right up until their performance. So I won't see them till they're up on that stage.'

'Rachel's going to be so mad that you didn't tell her.'

'Yea probably,' Blaine agreed. 'Wait, do you think this is a good idea? Maybe I shouldn't be going. No, no, I definitely shouldn't.' He turned to start unpacking.

Sam rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 'Calm down, Blaine. Of course you should go. Support your sister. It won't do you any harm. With a bit of luck, it might even be good for you.'

Blaine glared at him in response. 'One day, Sam. One day you're going to get rid of that damned knowing smile.'

Xxx

When Blaine landed in Ohio, he caught a taxi out to LeRoy's work. By the time he got there, it was two in the afternoon. He stopped in to speak with the receptionist (did she really have to flirt with him like that? She'd known him for years) before heading to his dad's office.

'Blaine?' his father asked as he tapped at the open door. 'What are you doing here? Have you come for Regionals?'

'Yea, yea I did. I wanted to surprise Rachel.'

LeRoy nodded in agreement, clearly liking the sentiment. 'How come you didn't let me and your dad know though?'

'Yea, that's a good idea,' Blaine replied sarcastically, 'because you're so good at keeping secrets.'

'I suppose you're right,' LeRoy reluctantly admitted. 'Do you wanna just hang round here for a bit? We're gonna have to leave in about half an hour to make it to Columbus on time, since the show starts at five.'

The ensuing car ride consisted of LeRoy and Hiram recounting all the wacky things that had been going on while Blaine had been away. It never ceased to amuse him that nothing normal ever seemed to happen to them. Hiram then gave a detailed description of all the redecorating that had been going on, Blaine tuning out to most of it. They just had time for Blaine to recount his version of Rachel's trip to New York before they arrived in Columbus.

Before Blaine knew it, he was seated in the auditorium, and the show was starting. The first group to perform (The Warblers?) were an all-male a capella group, and, Blaine had to admit, they were pretty good.

Up next though was the New Directions, and Blaine was interested to see that as the curtain rose, there was one lone figure on the stage. Moments before the spotlight shone on him, he recognised that it was Kurt. At first, Blaine was just shocked that Rachel had allowed someone else to sing a solo, but he quickly realised that Kurt was very good. He had the most beautiful countertenor voice, and the emotion he brought to the song was haunting.

Blaine was completely caught up in the experience, the only thing he was aware of was Kurt. There was something about the way Kurt performed that just made Blaine's heart ache. It took him a while to realise what it was, but eventually he worked it out. Vulnerability. Standing up there, Kurt was exposing himself to the world, every emotion real, every emotion painfully felt. Blaine didn't think he'd ever seen someone look so vulnerable before.

And that's when it clicked. That's what he wanted. That's what he wanted with Kurt. That vulnerability. He wanted to be able to do what Kurt could do. He wanted to be able to give him his heart, place it in his hands, and trust him to take care of it. He wanted to be vulnerable for Kurt, the way that Kurt was being vulnerable for him. Because there was no way that this song wasn't for him, even if Kurt didn't know that he was there.

Blaine barely registered as Kurt's song finished, too caught up in his own thoughts. He didn't pay any attention to the duet sung by Rachel and Finn, the rest of the group dancing around in the background. He just wanted the performance to be over. He just wanted to go and find Kurt.

The moment the lights came up for intermission, Blaine was up and out of his seat, not even saying a word to his dads. He was out of the auditorium, and sneaking backstage in a flash. It was only then that he began to worry, not knowing where he would find Kurt. As he rounded a corner, he saw someone heading through a door.

'Kurt!' he called. Kurt turned around, eyes landing on Blaine, before starting to walk towards him, grinning widely. Blaine propelled himself forward, and the moment that he reached him, his hands were cupping Kurt's cheeks and his lips found Kurt's. It took Kurt a moment to respond, but soon they were lost in the kiss, completely unaware of the world around them. One of Kurt's hands snaked around Blaine's waist, the other buried in his hair. Tentatively, Blaine let his tongue run along the soft fullness of Kurt's lip, Kurt granting him access as he gave a low moan. As they explored each other's mouths, Blaine wound one arm around the back of Kurt's neck, holding him close, never wanting to let him go.

Eventually, they had to pull away though, and they stood there holding each other tight, Kurt's breath ghosting over Blaine's face.

Blaine placed a kiss to the corner of Kurt's mouth, hovering there as he started to speak. 'I'm ready,' he whispered. 'I'm ready to do this. I'm ready to trust you.'

Kurt didn't say anything in reply, just kissed him again. It was such a loving kiss, and it made Blaine's head swim to know that someone could feel that way about him.

When they pulled away again, Blaine continued to speak. 'So, um, Kurt? Will you be my boyfriend?'

'Of course,' Kurt replied, this time just hugging him close. 'There's nothing I would like more.'

Xxx

Blaine looked around at the crowd of unfamiliar faces in Breadstix. The moment they had made it back to Lima, the New Directions had gathered here to celebrate their win. Apparently Mr Schue had booked the place out in anticipation. Blaine had been pleased when Kurt had asked him to come along. Sure it was a little awkward since he didn't know most people, but it was nice to be able to hold Kurt close, to be able to show him affection without anyone getting offended. He was relieved that the group were so accepting.

Everyone seemed excited to meet him, seemingly pleased that Kurt had someone who cared for him. But by the end of the night, Blaine was pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to name most of them. He was far too distracted by everything that was Kurt.

They may have only been dating for approximately three hours, but Blaine had slipped into PDA mode already. Trailing his fingers along Kurt's arm while he talked to some girl (Brittany, was it?) about dolphins. Cuddling into him while they sat in a booth eating dessert. Watching him turn an adorable shade of red when Blaine surprised him with a peck on the cheek.

Yup, this was the life, Blaine thought. He could definitely get used to dating Kurt Hummel.

**Hope you enjoyed. I always worry when I write something pivotal like this, that I'm going to do it wrong, and ruin the whole story. So hopefully I haven't messed it all up for you.**

**Also, hopefully I did justice to the confusion that Blaine was feeling. I feel like it would have been a bunch of convoluted reasons that made him unsure, rather than one black-and-white thing. Or at least he would feel like that was the case.**

**There's one more chapter to go. There's a bit more left in the storyline, but it's also about tying up loose ends. If I forget anything, and it's leaving you curious, let me know and I'll try to fix it for you. Or let me know now if there's anything that needs answering in the last chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

Blaine got home late on Sunday evening, and as a result he didn't see Sam until first thing Monday. He was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal while trying not to fall asleep, when Blaine entered the room.

'How can you be so cheerful at this hour of the morning?' he asked, mouth full.

Blaine just laughed. 'Good morning to you, too.'

'No, seriously dude. What's – Wait. Does this have something to do with Kurt?'

'It might,' Blaine told him, playing coy.

'You two are together, aren't you?' Blaine nodded his assent, Sam squealing in excitement. 'Ok, ok, you have to tell me everything.'

'Has it ever occurred to you that you might be a teenage girl?' Blaine asked, amused at Sam's reaction. Sam poked his tongue out in response. 'Alright, I will tell you, but on the way to class. Otherwise we're gonna be late.'

Ten minutes later, as he was locking the apartment door, Sam was already badgering Blaine for information. Blaine relented, telling Sam every detail from the Regionals competition.

'Oh this is so exciting,' Sam told him, jostling Blaine as they exited the apartment building. 'Told you so, didn't I? So what about the rest of the weekend? Please tell me your family didn't hog all your time.'

'No they didn't. Fortunately I managed to avoid helping Rachel prepare for this week's audition. So we got to spend tonnes of time together. Kurt organised the cutest picnic for us, it was so sweet. And I had to go have dinner with his family, which surprisingly wasn't too awkward. Yesterday, we just spent the day watching movies.'

'That's so awesome dude,' Sam told him. 'Seriously, I'm so happy for you. Although I still can't believe that it took you so long.'

'Yea, well, who'd have known that you'd actually be right about something?'

Xxx

The final couple of months of Blaine's degree went by quite fast. Over the weeks, he and Kurt learnt how to make their relationship work long distance – calling and texting and Skyping whenever they got the chance.

Blaine was excited to find out that he got the job he'd applied for, thanking his lucky stars that he was fortunate enough to get the first job he went for. Kurt was accepted into Parsons, and Rachel was accepted into NYADA, so the three of them were going to be in New York together the following year.

He was just thinking about that one Thursday evening when he got off the phone with Kurt. Reentering the lounge, he found Sam sprawled across the couch, watching a movie. Blaine sat down across from him, the urgency of the topic in mind causing him to pause the movie. Sam looked up, mildly annoyed.

'Hey, so I was thinking,' Blaine told him, cutting straight to the chase. 'Would it be ok with you if Kurt moved in next year?'

'You can do what you want,' Sam replied. 'I've been meaning to tell you, but I'm gonna move out. Tina wants to go to LA, try and make it in Hollywood.'

'And you're going too? Isn't that a bit drastic? You haven't been together long.'

'Like you can talk,' Sam retorted. 'You've barely been dating Kurt for a month and you're planning to have him move in with you.'

Blaine huffed a sigh, defensive. 'That's different. We're both gonna be in the same town anyway.'

'I guess we're gonna have to trust our own decisions then,' Sam told him. 'Regardless, the point is, you can ask Kurt to move in if you so wish. Hell, if you wanted, you could have Rachel move in too now.'

'Yea. You know, I can't even decide whether it's a good idea or not.'

'I was joking actually, but that's only because I could never live with her. You, however, have years of experience.'

Blaine nodded in response, suddenly distracted by the thought that he'd have to say goodbye to Sam. They'd been friends for so long, and they'd become so close. It would be weird not seeing him every day.

He looked up as Sam cleared his throat, noticing the awkward look on his face. 'Blaine, I'm really gonna miss you dude.'

'Me too, buddy. Me too.'

Xxx

Blaine was back in Lima, come to see Kurt and Rachel graduate. It was interesting to see them with their peers, he thought. To see the way that the New Directions were almost accepted, having come second at Nationals.

Blaine cheered as Rachel marched across the stage, one of the first students to receive their diploma. When Kurt walked across, Blaine could see him searching him out, and when his eyes landed on him, he blew him a kiss. Kurt smiled widely at him, waving back.

When the ceremony was over, Blaine rushed to find Kurt, ignoring his parents who were searching out Rachel. As he got near, Kurt spotted him, hurrying over and throwing his arms around Blaine.

'Oh, babe, I'm so glad you made it. It's so good to see you.'

'I wouldn't miss it for the world,' Blaine told him, fingers gripping his back. 'I hope this means you'll be at my graduation though.'

'Of course I will,' Kurt replied, chancing a quick peck on the lips before he pulled away.

'Anyway, I had something I wanted to ask you,' Blaine continued.

Kurt looked worried for a moment. 'Please tell me you're not going to propose. I only just finished high school Blaine.'

'No, no, heck no. I think that might be a little too soon. No, what I wanted to ask was, will you move in with me?'

Kurt thought about it for a moment. 'Yea, I'd like that. Not sure that my dad will though. Would we be sharing a room? I'm not really sure what he'd think about that.' He was beginning to ramble.

'I was thinking we would be, yea, if that's alright with you,' Blaine explained, suddenly nervous. 'I've already asked Rachel if she wants Sam's old room.'

'Great,' Kurt replied, 'we'll just have to convince Dad it's ok. Because I can't wait to move in.'

Xxx

A month later, Kurt and Rachel moved in on the same day, the small apartment in absolute chaos with so many people about. After hours of unpacking and organising, and rearranging the furniture to Kurt's exact specifications, the place was finally quiet. Kurt's family, and Blaine and Rachel's dads were staying a few blocks away, leaving the new roommates to spend their first night together.

Kurt and Blaine were curled up together on the couch, Rachel having just gone to bed. Blaine rolled over in Kurt's embrace, stretching up to place a lazy, languid kiss on his lips. Kurt smiled into the kiss, tilting his head to deepen it. Blaine whimpered as Kurt nipped gently at his lip, before pulling away and reattaching at his jaw. Blaine tilted his head up further, exposing more skin to Kurt, his breath becoming ragged.

Hand coming down to hold Kurt's hip, Blaine leaned forward to whisper in his ear. 'How about we move to the bed?'

Kurt pulled back, regarding Blaine with a look of uncertainty. Blaine began to panic. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just assumed. But if you're not ready, that's fine, we can wait.'

Kurt cupped Blaine's cheek. 'I think we should wait,' he told him. 'But not for me. For you. I want you to realise how much I care about you, I want you to really know that I'm not just using you.'

Blaine leaned forward to kiss him again, hot and insistent. 'I wouldn't mind if you used me.'

'Blaine, I'm serious,' Kurt replied, panting slightly as he pulled away.

'Fine,' Blaine agreed, 'but can we at least go and spoon?'

Xxx

Summer was drawing to a close. It wouldn't be long now before Blaine began his new job. Kurt was about to begin his degree as well, and he was starting to get apprehensive. Blaine couldn't get over how utterly adorable it was.

Blaine wasn't looking forward to the end of summer. It meant that he and Kurt wouldn't be able to spend their mornings like this anymore. They wouldn't be able to spend all these lazy hours curled up in bed together.

Kurt had stayed true to his word, and during these mornings they would do nothing more than snuggle, sharing the occasional kiss. Blaine had begun to wonder if anything more would ever happen. But even still, he loved these quiet mornings. He loved this alone time he spent with Kurt.

He loved Kurt.

He hadn't actually said as much to Kurt before. But then again, Kurt hadn't said it either. That thought made Blaine a little apprehensive. What if Kurt didn't actually feel the same way about him?

He looked down at the boy in his arms, curled up against him, face buried in his chest. He really was beautiful. Chest swelling with feelings, he bent down, placing a kiss in Kurt's hair.

Kurt looked up, a smile tugging at his lips. 'What?'

'I love you,' Blaine replied, not caring that he was taking a huge risk.

Kurt's smile broadened. 'I love you too.'

They snuggled back into each other, not saying anything for a few minutes. Eventually, Blaine spoke up. 'What do you want to do today? I was thinking we could go check out that new coffee shop down the road.'

Kurt leant up on his elbow. 'I have a better idea,' he replied. Running his fingers through the curls at the back of Blaine's neck, he bent down, placing a kiss on his lips. As Blaine wrapped an arm around his waist, Kurt rolled over on top of him. Both hands now tangled in Blaine's hair, Kurt deepened the kiss.

Yup, Blaine thought as Kurt's body began to rock against his, this was the best possible way for them to spend their day.

**The End**

**Thank you so much for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it. Big thanks to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed. And to those who reviewed most/all chapters, you are absolutely amazing.**

**I really enjoyed writing this story. At the start I was a bit worried because I didn't have it planned out, but it worked out really well. I never found myself wishing that I hadn't written X,Y,Z three chapters ago. And it all seemed to hang together pretty well.**

**If there's any loose ends that you think I didn't tie up, let me know. If need be, I'll try to add some notes or one shots to clarify things.**

**I have another story in mind, but I can't make any promises about when I'll write it because my life has just gotten a whole lot busier. In fact, I prob shouldn't have even told you about it, because that just puts a whole lot of pressure on me. Anyway, it's a diff ship, but I won't tell you anything more other than it's slash, but it doesn't involve Kurt or Blaine. So that might turn up at some stage in the future.**


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